Plus One
by unknown229
Summary: Kaien is a mysterious stranger that the Straw-hat Pirates came across on their way to Alabasta. Luffy quickly took a liking to the man and soon, he was a part of the crew. This is the story of Luffy and his crew's adventures, with the addition of one more. This is the story of One Piece, Plus One. (Contains spoilers from the Alabasta arc onwards)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Straw-hat Pirates plus Vivi relaxed visibly when Little Garden finally disappeared from sight. Zoro was still slightly shaky due to the terrible wounds he inflicted on his legs, but all in all the crew was fine. Their heading was for Alabaster, where they were going to deliver Vivi home and do what they could to help her people. Of course that was the plan. Then again; plans never work when you have one particular captain at the helm of your crew.

"Nami…" Luffy complained, hanging upside down from his post on the head of the Going-Merry. Nami blatantly ignored him carefully checking their velocity.

"Nami…" Luffy said, this time louder. Nami could nearly feel a vein in her forehead twitching.

"Nami!" Luffy shouted, swinging his arms around randomly. Nami slammed her hand down on the railing she had been leaning on and sent a hard glare at her childish captain.

"What!?" She screamed in annoyance. It didn't take long for Sanji to come racing from the kitchen and begin crowding around her.

"What's wrong my dearest Nami? Is everything okay?" He asked; love-struck as always. Nami punched him back into the kitchen ignoring his cried that she was beautiful even when punching him in the face. Nami turned back the Luffy who was now sitting the right way up on the goats head. Usopp came wandering out of the guys' quarters, curious as to the sudden shouting. Even Vivi stuck her head out the kitchen door to watch the conversation.

"What is it Luffy?" She asked again, this time calmer.

"I'm bored. Can we stop at that island over there?" He asked. Nami opened her mouth to crush his soul, but was stopped when Vivi came out of the kitchen.

"Oh, can we please Nami?" The princess asked, pressing her hands together. Nami looked hopelessly at Vivi.

"Why though?" She asked. They had just been on an island. As if reading her thoughts Vivi gave a rather good answer.

"The last island we went to was filled with dangerous things and as such we weren't really able to relax. The logpose is set for Alabaster and so it won't change even if we stay at an island for a while. We just want a quick stop for relaxation Nami, please?" Vivi asked, eyes shining. Nami groaned.

"Fine. We'll stop at the next island…" she agreed. Cheers rung out across the deck, both Usopp and Luffy hugging each other and dancing. A loud racket began inside the kitchen as Sanji began to prepare a picnic. Zoro didn't even stir from his sleeping position on the deck of the Merry. Nami went inside her and Vivi's sleeping quarters and grabbed a map. She frowned when she saw that there were no islands nearby at all. Vivi stuck her head in the room.

"Is there something wrong Nami?" She asked, concern etched on her face. Nami smiled and waved her away.

"No, it's fine." She responded. Vivi opened her mouth to protest but was cut off when a loud shout from outside was heard.

"Island ahead!" Luffy's voice yelled in excitement. He and Usopp then proceeded to sing about finding islands. Nami frowned in confusion. The map says there shouldn't be any islands around. The navigator shrugged. She could just add it onto the map later then.

Inside the kitchen Sanji had painstakingly packed a few baskets full of food. One for Luffy, one for the girls and one for himself and the other two guys. He slipped a bottle of wine and three glasses in the girls' basket and preparing himself for a fight with Luffy and Usopp, opened the door and walked onto the deck. Luffy's reaction was immediate. His head snapped up and his nostrils flared for a moment until his eyes fixed on the baskets in Sanji's arms.

"Food!" He screamed, launching himself at the cook, only to be smacked into the mast by Sanji's leg.

"Get out of it!" Sanji shouted back, holding the food to him carefully. "You can wait until everyone else is eating!" He finished. Luffy groaned in sadness.

"Sanji…" He complained. He was distracted however, when the ship came to a stop and the anchor was dropped. Usopp came out of the control room and stretched his arms over his head. He looked over to the sleeping Zoro and gave a yell.

"Oi Zoro! Wake up! We're having a picnic on an island!"

Zoro didn't stir. Usopp sighed and walked over to the swordsman. He reached a hand out towards Zoro's sword and the swordsman immediately sat up, eyes fixed on Usopp. Usopp grinned.

"Thought that might wake you up!" He laughed and stood. Zoro looked around blearily.

"Wha?" He asked in confusion.

"Island. Picnic. Come on." Usopp said before running off to join the crew who had already disembarked. Zoro carefully stood up, mindful of his legs and walked over to the edge of the ship. In front of him was a pathetic excuse for an Island. He could probably walk around the entire thing within a few minutes. He jumped down, ignoring the twinge that shot up his legs. He frowned in confusion when he saw his crew not on the shore-line having a picnic, but crowding around something further up on the beach. He rubbed his eyes again, placed his hand on his three swords and walked towards the group. He was actually surprised by what he saw. Stretched out on the sand was a person. A man to be exact. He was tall and thin, with short brown hair that fell messily in his face. Around his neck was wrapped a long red scarf that was squashed underneath him. He was wearing a loose white tunic that was rolled up at the elbows. The tunic was covered with an open black vest. He had a black and white weapons belt that was filled with various knives and wore long red pants with black stripes going down the middle. His feet were covered by knee-high black boots that fit him snugly.  
Zoro looked at the others in confusion.

"Who's that?" He asked.

"No idea…" Sanji muttered, frowning down at the man. The crew heard a chuckle from Luffy and saw the cheeky grin on his face.

"Let's find out!" He shouted. Zoro groaned. This wasn't going to end well. His thoughts were proven right when Luffy literally jumped on top of the man, straddling his chest and poking him on the forehead.

"Luffy!" Nami screamed, reaching for their captain. "What are you doing!?"

"Waking him up?" Luffy asked, as if he wasn't sure himself. A low sigh stopped Nami from saying anything else. All eyes snapped back to the sleeping man, who wasn't sleeping anymore. His grey eyes blinked blearily and he looked around, eyes finally settling on Luffy. The man stared for a moment.

"Hello." He asked in a monotonous voice, as if it was normal for him to wake up on a deserted island with a teenager sitting on his chest.

"Hi!" Shouted Luffy, his typical, goofy grin plastered to his face. "My name is Monkey D Luffy! What's yours?" He asked. The man underneath him blinked again.

"Kaien." He stated bluntly, yawning.

"Wow! That's a heaps cool name!" Luffy yelled rocking backwards. Vivi giggled at his antics.

"Luffy you should probably get off him now," Zoro said, grabbing his captain by the vest and jerking him of Kaien. Luffy grinned back at Zoro before facing Kaien again, who still hadn't moved from his position.

"Oh yeah! These are my crew members. The green-haired one is Zoro, the guy with the long nose is Usopp, the blonde-guy is Sanji, and the girl with orange hair is Nami and the other one is Vivi!" Luffy shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "They're the members of my crew!" He crowed excitedly. Kaien stared up at the crew, looking at each of them for a while.

"Pretty nice crew kid. Not many of them though." He commented. Luffy grinned down at him. Sanji had wandered away to set up the picnic and the others had followed, leaving Luffy alone with Kaien.

"I know. I'm going to get more though. At the moment I've got Zoro the swordsman, Nami the navigator, Usopp the sniper and engineer and Sanji the cook! I'm the captain." Luffy said. Kaien nodded slowly and hummed. There was a silence for a while.

"Oi Luffy!" Sanji's voice broke the quiet between the two. "Food! Bring Kaien as well!" He shouted. Luffy head snapped up again.

"Food!?" He questioned. He barely stopped himself from racing off and looked down at the man who was still lying on the ground. "Come get some food! Sanji's the best cook on the Grand-line!" Luffy boasted proudly. Kaien hummed again before pushing himself up.

"Best cook on the Grand-line huh? I'll give it a go then." He said. Luffy grinned and sprinted over to his crew-mates, falling over Zoro in his haste to get to the food. Kaien rubbed the back of his head and adjusted his scarf. He watched Luffy and his crew for a moment before walking over. To his mild surprise there was a space prepared for him already between Sanji and Luffy. He dumped himself on the ground and folded his legs beneath him. Multiple baskets were in front of them and all the food inside looked absolutely amazing. Sanji passed Kaien a plate, and gave him a grin.

"Have as much as you want, though you better get some food quick. Luffy is a bottomless pit, so unless you want to go hungry you better grab some food now." He warned, turning back to his own plate of food. Kaien watched in mild amusement, and amazement as Luffy's arm stretched longer than physically possible around him towards Sanji's plate. Noticing Kaien's bemused stare, Zoro elaborated.

"Luffy ate a devil fruit, so now his body is made out of rubber."

Kaien nodded and reached out to get some food from the basket. Just as his hand was about to close around a piece of meat, a hand snapped out and stole it. Kaien flicked his eyes towards Luffy, who was now watching Kaien's hand. Kaien reached for another piece, still watching Luffy. Just as his hand began to close on it, Luffy's hand once again shot out and stole the piece. By now the rest of the crew was watching this in amusement. It was a common occurrence, but they were curious as to how the newcomer would deal with it. Kaien was still for a moment before his hand snapped out with intense speed, grabbed a piece of meat and threw it just out of Luffy's reach. Luffy's eyes followed the meat and both hands reached for it. During this period of time, Kaien casually stacked food onto his plate. By the time Luffy's eyes were back on Kaien, the older man was happily chewing on his own piece of meat. Luffy frowned.

"That's no fair…" he grumbled. His crew laughed at him. The rest of the picnic was spent by them all avoiding Luffy's searching hands until the questioning started.

"Say Kaien," Vivi began, de-seeding some grapes. Kaien hummed, looking up from his plate. He looked at the bluenette quizzically. "How did you get on this island? It's in the middle of nowhere and there are no ships around but ours." She asked. Kaien nodded thoughtfully.

"Good question." He said, casually slapping away Luffy's hands from his plate. "Well, I used to be the captain of a crew, but they decided they didn't like me so they marooned me on this island." He said nonchalantly, holding his plate above his head and pushing Luffy away with his foot in an attempt to protect his food. Usopp gaped at Kaien.

"And you were okay with that? With your crew just ditching you?" Usopp asked in confusion. Kaien shrugged, his arm around Luffy's neck in a headlock while he attempted to keep his food from Luffy's scrambling hands.

"I guess. What else could I do? I wasn't going to hurt any of my crew, so I let them do as they wished." He answered. The girls looked at him in respect.

"That's a very honourable thing to do," Nami said with a smile. Kaien watched in confusion as hearts nearly erupted from Sanji's eyes as he gazed at Nami.

"Not really…" Kaien said, one of his hands now holding both of Luffy's wrists. Luffy then proceeded to stretch his neck out. Kaien sighed in exasperation. He passed his plate to Sanji who juggled it with his own plate in surprise. Kaien then pushed Luffy to the ground, pinned his hands behind his back and proceeded to sit on him. Kaien then took his plate back from Sanji and continued eating. Luffy began complaining beneath him, but was ignored by Kaien and his crew.

"You seem very good at protecting your food from Luffy," Nami mused as she watched Luffy attempt to stretch his head up to Kaien's food. "It took all of us a while to figure it out." Kaien just shrugged.

"It's typical in most Devil fruit users. I had one on my own crew and we always had to keep our food from him. I guess I've just had a lot of practice." Kaien said, finishing the last piece of fruit on his plate. He placed it in front of Luffy who groaned sadly.

"No fair Kaien…"

Kaien climbed off Luffy who then attempted to steal food from Vivi, only to get fiercely smacked on the head by Sanji.

"Keep your filthy hands away from the lovely Vivi!" He shouted at the captain. Luffy ignored him and went again. Kaien scratched the back of his head and leant back on his hands, stretching his feet out in front of him. He felt so relaxed, just sitting in a group with these strangers, and listening to their fun bantering. He tilted his head up towards the late-morning sun and closed his eyes for a moment. A shadow across his face made his eyes open. Luffy stood in front of him, a grin on his face and hands on his hips. The rest of the crew stood behind him.

"You!" Luffy shouted, pointing a finger at Kaien. Kaien stared at the finger.

"Me." He responded.

"Yes you!" Luffy shouted.

"Me what?" Kaien finally asked. Luffy grinned.

"You're joining my crew!"

There was silence.

"…No thanks." Kaien said. There were a few chuckles from behind Luffy, who still hadn't moved. Kaien tilted his head around Luffy to look at them.

"Have I missed something?" He asked. Nami shook her head.

"No, it's just that once Luffy chooses you to join his crew, you end up joining it no matter what. All of us were intent on not joining his crew at one point, yet here we are." She said. Kaien hummed and brought his gaze back to Luffy. Luffy continued to stare at him from under the brim of his straw hat.

"I really don't want to." Kaien said to Luffy. Luffy shook his head.

"Don't care. You're joining." He said stubbornly. Kaien tilted his head at the teenager.

"Why?" He asked. This time it was Luffy looking at him in confusion.

"What do you mean why?" Luffy asked. Kaien rubbed the back of his head again and sighed.

"What benefit to you gain from having be on your crew? You have chosen the members of your crew for a reason have you not?" Kaien asked. Luffy nodded. "You are the captain, and you recruited a swordsman, a cook, a navigator and an engineer. I am also a captain. If I join your crew I will no longer be a captain, and as such I will have no purpose on your ship. Dead weight, if you will." He explained. Luffy just stared at him.

"You're wrong." Kaien looked up in surprise. "No-one who ever joins my crew becomes dead weight. Ever. You may not be a captain anymore but you will still be a crew member and you will be useful. You're strong. I can feel it, and this crew can always use more strong fighters. Besides," Luffy said with a grin. "If you don't join my crew you won't be able to get off the island!" Luffy shouted. The others sighed behind him.

"You could have used that argument at the beginning Luffy," Zoro groaned.

"Yes, but he's Luffy, and that would make sense." Sanji grumbled. Luffy grinned at the duo and turned back to Kaien.

"So? You gonna join me or not?" He asked again. Kaien stared at him for a moment. He sighed before standing up and stretching his arms. He walked past Luffy and patted the teen on the head, knocking his hat askew. As he headed towards the Going-Merry he gave the group behind him a look.

"Are we going or what?" He asked. Luffy whooped and sprinted up to Kaien, jumping on his back and wrapping his arms around the older man's neck. Sanji laughed and patted Kaien on the shoulder as he walked past. Nami and Vivi both gave him smiles as they walked past him and Usopp gave him a smack on the back that made him stumble. Zoro paused beside him and gave him a nod.

"You know, I think you're the first member to join that didn't participate in a fight beforehand." He said, before walking up the recently lowered gangplank that rested on the beach. Kaien felt a knock against the top of his head as Luffy placed his chin there.

"C'mon Kaien, hurry up and get on board! We have a princess to take home!" He shouted.

Kaien frowned at Luffy, though the teenager couldn't see as he began to walk onto the deck.

"A princess?" He asked, confused.

"Yep!" Luffy shouted, still contently riding on Kaien's back as they walked to the middle of the deck. Usopp ran past, followed Nami's orders to raise the anchor and Zoro was pulling violently on some ropes as he tried to unfurl the sails. "Vivi is the princess of Alabaster! And we have to take her home and rescue her people!" He shouted, one hand unfurling from Kaien's neck and pointing it towards the sky. Kaien looked over to the blue-haired girl who gave him a smile.

"I see. Well, we've got a lot to do then." He said. Luffy unwrapped himself from Kaien and run up to his post on the head of the Merry.

"To Alabaster!" He shouted. The rest of the crew turned to him with smiles.

"Aye captain!" They shouted. Kaien leaned back against the wall. Maybe joining this crew wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Nami is Sick? Beyond the Snow that Falls on the Ocean!

A seagull cried as the Going-Merry slid past smoothly, the sound of water parting at the helm the only noise made from its passing. The mast was fully blown and the Going-Merry was well on her way. The peace and quiet was broken by Usopp's distinct voice.

"Guys, listen up!" He said. "I will go to Elbaf someday! To the village of warriors!" He proclaimed. Luffy jumped up with a grin on his face.

"Yeah! Great!" He shouted as he ran to Usopp. The duo then proceeded to sing about giants and Elbaf and do a strange version of the can-can. Kaien watched on in mild amusement, resting against the wall tiredly. Neither he, nor the singing duo noticed Nami sink down on the ground to lean against the mast, face pale and breathing hard. Nami watched the two boys dancing on the railing, fully expecting the two to fall off. Carue ran back and forth in front of them, squawking in a frantic way.

"Where do they get so much energy?" Nami murmured to herself, turning away from the noisy three. The rest of the crew heard Luffy and Usopp scream, and only Kaien looked over to see the duo hanging precariously from the railing of the Going-Merry. The two scrambled back on board with wide eyes. Just to the side, Nami sighed and raised a hand to her forehead.

"Wow, after everything that's happened here I'm exhausted…" She said to herself. Kaien looked over for a moment, his sharp grey eyes picking out the grey pallor of her cheeks, and the sweat covering her face. After hearing her words however, he dismissed it and turned back to the two boys and the duck.

"Um Vivi," Nami called. Vivi looked over at Nami with a smile. "Could you watch this for me?" She asked, handing the logpose over to Vivi.

"Sure," the princess replied carefully taking it in her hands. Carue waddled over and squawked curiously, tilting his head at Nami. There was silence for a moment as Vivi stared at the logpose before Nami gave a chuckle.

"You're on your way," she said with a smile, tilting her head back to lean in on the mast. "Soon you'll return to Alabasta. Well my rosy outlook is assuming we can make it there safely and without any more surprises." Nami said, grinning.

Vivi looked up from the logpose and smiled.

"Yes, I must return. It's my obligation. I am the person everyone in the kingdom is counting on." She said. Vivi's eyes glazed for a moment, as if remembering something. Her grip on the logpose tightened and her hands shook. "I will return home _alive_." She said forcefully. She looked up to see Nami, Luffy and Usopp staring at her in a mix of pity and pride, while Kaien's gaze was unreadable and she quickly looked away from him. There was a pregnant pause as everyone digested Vivi's heady words until the sound of firm footsteps going down the stairs broke the silence.

"You'll get home," Sanji said. "But there's no reason to push yourself so hard." He said. Vivi looked up with a gasp. Sanji appeared before her, a cigarette in his mouth and a plateful of cakes and snack in his hand. "You've got me!" He said with a grin. Sanji bent down and held out the plate of food.  
"Here you go. Try these sweets. They'll help you relax. I've made some delicious tarts, and your choice of coffee and tea." He said. Vivi smiled up at him.

"Thank you." Was all she said. Sanji chuckled. It was a nice moment before Usopp and Luffy appeared beside Sanji, arms slung over each other's shoulders and mouth hanging wide open. To everyone's surprise, Kaien was also standing with them, though he was much more composed than the teenagers. Carue jumped in on Kaien's other side, face matched the boys perfectly.

"Yours are in the kitchen!" Sanji shouted at the four. "Now go!"  
The words hadn't even left his mouth before Kaien was nowhere to be seen, only the galley door swinging shut; and the two younger boys and Carue were sprinting towards the galley. A mass of jumbled yelling occurred as Usopp and Carue run up the steps and around the rail towards the door. Luffy cheated and used his arms to stretch up to the railing and shoot himself through the door. They left the group of three sitting there with varied expressions. Sanji one of annoyance, Nami amusement and Vivi mild confusion. It was quiet for another moment before a huge amount of yelling could be heard.

"Kaien!" Luffy shouted loudly from inside the galley. "Give me back that cake!" He screamed. The next thing the group of three saw was Kaien sprinting from the galley, arms full of cakes and being chased by a furious Luffy. Back down on the deck, Nami felt her vision start to blur.

* * *

At the back of the Going-Merry, Zoro was practising his sword sings with a huge amount of weights.

"603…604…605…606…" He paused and scowled. "Damn it all. If I only could have cut that wax… I wouldn't have left anyone hanging there." He began to swing the weights again, ignoring the pull against his healing legs. "So weak!" He growled at himself. "If I'm gonna get stronger, I need to be able to slice through stuff like that from any stance."

He was then utterly distracted when the new crewmember ran around him, dropping cakes all over the place. He was then even more confused as Luffy, Usopp and Carue followed the trail of cakes, shouting some rather rude things at Kaien. Zoro ignored it and continued training.

* * *

Vivi kept her gaze locked on the logpose to Alabasta, her hands wrapped around it protectively. She was jerked from her stare by Nami's weak voice.

"Vivi?" She called. "I'm sorry but I…" Nami paused for a moment. Her face was pale and she was sweating. "I need to rest…" she said weakly. Vivi turned from where she had been facing the ocean.

"I understand Nami," she said easily. "Don't worry, everything's under control. I'll keep an eye on our course." She said. Nami stood up shakily, a head pressed to her burning forehead. Suddenly Nami's knees gave up and just before she fell to the ground she landed in a pair of sturdy arms. Vivi let out a shocked gasp and Kaien looked down at the body he was holding up. Even through her clothes, he could feel her skin was burning. His long scarf fell across her face and he jerked his head to move it out of the way. Nami was fiercely panting and Vivi rushed over. Kaien adjusted the navigator so that she was being carried in his arms bridal style, and Vivi placed a hand on Nami's forehead.

"You're burning up!" She exclaimed. She looked up to Kaien with a hopeless expression on her face.

"Call the others." He ordered. Vivi followed his command immediately.

"Hey everyone! Come quick!" She shouted loudly. At the back of the ship Zoro paused in his training. The galley doors opened and Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Carue stuck their heads out. Luffy and Usopp had their mouths stuffed full of food, which sadly didn't stop Luffy from asking what was wrong.

"What's wrong Vivi, are you okay?" he asked. Vivi took a step towards him in urgency.

"Nami has an awful fever!" She yelled. Immediately, Sanji violently shoved the two in front of him away, causing Luffy and Usopp to go flying.

"What!?" He shouted. "Nami's sick!?" His gaze fell on Nami and he barely kept from narrowing them at the man holding her. The crew quickly crowed around Kaien, watching Nami in concern. Kaien scowled at them.

"Enough! It's hard enough for her to breath as it is. Don't go crowding around." He said. The crew immediately scrambled back. "Where can I put her?" He asked. Vivi grabbed Kaien's arm.

"This way," she said before running towards hers and Nami's cabin. As the crew attempted to follow him he waved them off.

"Unless you can help keep out." He said bluntly, following Vivi. They left a rather distressed crew on the deck. There was a long wait until the time came when Kaien walked out of the room, leaving the door open for the rest of the crew. He walked over to the goat's head that was at the front of the ship and leant against it with a sigh, leaving the crew alone together. Luffy, Usopp and Sanji scrambled inside as fast as they could. Sanji immediately started chewing on some cloth, worried tears streaming down his face. Usopp and Luffy were frowning down at Nami's still form. Vivi squeezed out a wet rag as she attempted to discover what was wrong.

"It's most likely the climate. It's quite normal." When seeing that her words had no effect on the distraught captain, cook and engineer, she elaborated. "You see, when sailors aren't used to the strange weather on the Grand-Line, they can become quite ill. There are countless stories of tough, notorious pirates who suddenly died. Their immune systems were attacked and ravaged by colds and fevers. Ignoring the symptoms can make even the slightest cold deadly." She said gravely.

"Nami…" Sanji cried into his arm.

"Is there anyone aboard this ship with even the slightest amount of medical experience?" She asked Luffy. There was an awkward silence before both Luffy and Usopp pointed at Nami. Vivi looked down at the sleeping navigator anxiously.

"Well, when you're sick, eating lots of meat always helps!" Luffy said unhelpfully with his usual grin. "Right Sanji?" He asked the still crying cook. Sanji pulled his face out of his arm and looked over to Luffy.

"It is protein and that does give the body energy to operate properly…" Sanji said in a choked up voice. "I can cook some foods that'll boost your energy, but there're no guarantees… I'm not a doctor." He said the last sentence bitterly and turned back to Nami. "Besides, if my cooking made that bigger difference, she'd never get sick. I put a hundred times more care into preparing her meals than I do for you losers. I serve Nami fresh meats and vegetables to ensure a balanced diet." He said. "Anything that's rotten or mouldy… goes to you." He said, pointing a finger at Usopp and Luffy.

"Jerk!" Usopp shouted, smacking Sanji's hand to the side.

"Oh well," Luffy said with a grin. "Still tastes good to me." Luffy laughed. Sanji sighed.

"My point is that as long as I'm this ships cook, no-one's going to feed Nami better in terms of nutrition. I can do anything in the kitchen. Still, I do know that there are specific foods for different kinds of illnesses. But I can't make that call. She needs to be diagnosed by a doctor who'll tell us how to help her." He complained.

"Just feed her everything that we've got." Luffy suggested. He received a few looks that clearly meant _youarethestupidestpersoni'veevermet._

"Shut up!" Sanji exclaimed. "She doesn't have the energy to eat! She's _sick_." He explained, as if to a child. He was cut of my Vivi's worried cry. Vivi had just removed the thermometer and was looking down at it in horror.

"104! No!" She cried. "This isn't good!"

"There's bound to be doctors and nurses in Alabasta that can help, right?" Usopp asked, worried. "How much longer 'til we get there Vivi?" He questioned. Vivi sunk down and lowered her head.

"I don't know… At least a week and that's too long!" She whispered sadly.

"'Kay, so she's sick," Luffy said with a pout. "Maybe we're over-reacting." He said, looking at the other boys. Both tilted their heads.

"I don't know, I've never been this sick." They said simultaneously.

"Morons!" Vivi shouted, climbing to her feet. "Have you all lost your minds!? This is serious! She shouldn't have such a high fever unless her body's fighting an infection. This is bad. Whatever's wrong is possibly life threatening!" She exclaimed. The three boys immediately freaked out.

"What!?"

"You mean Nami is gonna die!?" Luffy screamed. Sanji started bawling and Usopp sprinted frantically around the cabin. All of them were screaming nonsense.

"You're screams aren't helping!" Vivi screamed herself.

"We have to find a doctor to help Nami before she dies!" Luffy shouted hysterically.

"Okay, everyone just calm down!" Vivi attempted. "You're only going to make her feel worse."

Everyone went silent when the door swung open. Kaien stooped and entered the room, his presence somehow smothering the noise in the room. In his hand was a newspaper. The others watched quietly as Kaien walked over to Vivi and held out the newspaper, his hand grasping it loosely.

"Nami told me to give this to you. She's sorry she hid it."

When Vivi had taken it from his hands he turned and walked back out of the room. When he re-entered the refreshing sea air once more he sighed. Nearly directly in front of him, Zoro was sitting on the railing, casually lifting weights in one hand. Kaien watched him for a moment before yawning and going down to the front of the deck. He picked a shade covered area, slid to the ground, stretched out and fell asleep.

A few minutes later he was woken by the sound of sobbing coming from the cabin he had been in earlier and heard a door open and close. He opened his right eye a fraction and watched Nami walk shakily over to Zoro. Nami looked at the logpose in her hand.

"Zoro! What the hell have you been watching all this time?" She demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked in an agitated tone. "We've been going straight ahead as you ordered." Kaien heard this and repressed a smile.

"Oh yeah?" Nami countered. "Straight at a right angle! Look at the eternal-pose, it doesn't lie!" She said.

"I don't need to look at it, I've been using that big cloud over there as my guide." With his free hand, he pointed towards a rather large cloud that looked strangely like a monkey. Kaien hummed before turning back to the argument.

"You moron! Clouds move and change shape constantly!" She yelled. Zoro stared at her from the corner of his eye with a put-out look. Nami suddenly cried out in pain and clutched her head. Kaien involuntarily twitched with the need to go help but repressed it. He wasn't there anymore. It was fine.

"Geeze my head's killing me," Nami groaned.

"So leave the navigating to me and go to bed!" Zoro ordered.

"I wish that I could but I'm here because I can't trust you with this." She retorted. Zoro growled in anger and annoyance.

"Well… What about that new guy over there?" Zoro asked. Nami looked at the seemingly asleep figure of Kaien.

"Like he'll be able to help. He seems to sleep deeper than you do."

Zoro growled again. Nami suddenly gasped. She walked further towards the rails.

"The air… It's changed…" She murmured.

"What do you mean? The weather's been nice like this all day." Zoro said. He was right. There were only a few clouds in the sky and they were all pure white. The sea was calm and the only wind was the wind that pushed their ship.

"Never mind," Nami said. "Just get the others." She commanded. Zoro leaned over the railing.

"Oi! Get your butts out here! Right now! And you!" He yelled at Kaien. Kaien looked over at Zoro. "Wake up and get over here!" He shouted. Kaien sighed and slowly clambered to his feet. He had felt the change at the same time as Nami, and knew what it meant. He had been the captain of a ship after all. The others walked out of the cabin with questioning noises.

"What do you want?" Usopp asked.

"You know, I find it hard to get motivated when _you're_ giving the orders." Sanji complained.

"Shut up and get moving. Take the seat and catch the port-side wind." Zoro directed.

"Nami, what's up?" Sanji asked, ignoring Zoro. "It's a perfect day. The sun is shining, the waves are quiet…" He trailed off as Nami failed to respond. She did so after a moment.

"The wind…" she said.

"Wind?" Sanji asked quietly.

"There's a powerful wind. It's heading right this way. I think-"  
She was cut off as Luffy's hand pressed suddenly against her forehead. He had a relatively serious expression on his face as he felt her temperature. "Luffy?" She asked. Luffy was still for a moment before he suddenly jerked his hand away.

"Your head's on fire! You got to stay in bed and we need to get you a doctor!" He shouted. Nami frowned.

"Maybe you should mind your own business! This is my normal temperature! Now quite be so stupid and pull the damn ropes!" She yelled.

"Nami," Sanji attempted to reason with the navigator. "I know you're being brave for Vivi, but if you keep pushing, your body won't have a chance to heal!" Carue squawked in agreement.

"I told you guys I'm fine! Let it go!" Straight after shouting that, Nami nearly collapsed and had to steady herself on the rails.

"Wow, hey…" Usopp began. "Take it easy…"

"Not another word dammit!" Nami cut him off violently. "Hurry and move this ship!" With that, every crew member ran to their posts, giving up on convincing their navigator to rest.

"Alright, we're on it!" Shouting Zoro as he ran down the stairs. Luffy leapt over the railing and ran in the same direction as Sanji, towards the main mast. Usopp and Carue ran into the controls room and Nami finally allowed herself to sag.

"Geeze…" Nami sighed. "Something… I don't know… but something is headed this way… and soon." Nami looked out into the ocean, worried. Zoro leant back against the rope he was pulling, nearly falling off the rails. Luffy ran past him and Sanji, who was also pulling hard at the ropes. Kaien had his arms wrapped with two separate ropes, holding them steady. Inside the control room, Usopp was pulling the rudder right as hard as he could, Carue pushing with his head to help the long-nosed sniper. The rudder painstakingly turned and Nami watched as the direction of the eternal pose finally began to go back to the correct position. The ship tilted as it turned and the flag fluttered violently in the wind as the new air currents hit the sails and painstakingly heaved the Going-Merry forward. Luffy flung himself onto the goat's head, his typical spot and crossed his legs.

Below deck, Vivi was sitting on the bed Nami had previously been lying in, shaking.

"I need to get home, before time runs out!" She said. She stood and walked out of the room, stopped at the entrance.

"I have to ask you all a favour!" She said. The crewmembers looked up at her in query. "As a passenger on your ship, it's not my place to ask this but I have no choice. My homeland is in jeopardy of being destroyed so I would really appreciate it if we could move even faster. Every minute I'm out here, puts more of my people in danger of losing their lives. We need to head for Alabasta at full speed." She said. The others looked up at her with grim expressions, except for Kaien who was asleep again at the front of the ship. There was a pregnant pause before Nami smiled.

"Of course we will, just like we promised." She said. Vivi huffed and smiled.

"Then it's settled. Let's find an Island with a doctor on it right away!" She said happily. Nami looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?"

"First things first, we need to hurry and get Nami healthy again. Then we head for Alabasta. After all, we need her at the helm to move at top speed." She finished with a smile. Luffy grinned.

"Right! No-one makes this ship move like Nami." He said.

"Princess, hold on. Won't finding a doctor for Nami take time the citizens of Alabasta just don't have?" Usopp asked. Vivi smiled down at him.

"That's right, so the sooner we get Nami a doctor, the sooner we can get to Alabasta!" She explained. Sanji grinned up at her.

"Those are wise words Vivi. You're beautiful _and_ brilliant." He praised. Zoro gave her a smirk as well.

"The girl's got guts." He stated. Nami moved towards Vivi slowly.

"Thankyou Vivi," she said before collapsing. Vivi wrapped her arm around Nami to steady her.

"Don't over exert yourself Nami." Vivi warned. Nami smiled weakly.

"I- I'm sorry… I may need to lie… down-" she was cut off as she fell forward into Vivi's arms.

"Nami!" Vivi cried.

"Argh!" Luffy screamed. "What the hell is that!?" Everyone turned in shock. A huge cyclone, the size of a small island and tall enough to completely blot out the sun was behind them.

"It's a cyclone!" Vivi shouted.

"It's _huge_!" Luffy screamed. Usopp and Carue began screaming as Vivi gaped.

"Wait, that's the same path we were headed on!" Vivi shouted.

"Vivi's right!" Sanji shouted, to be heard over the screams and the wind. "That's the exact same direction!"

"That would have been a direct hit if we'd kept going straight, we'd be dead right now!" Usopp panicked. The clouds darkened even further and huge bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, huge, thunderous noises quickly following. The wind howled as the thunder and lightning continued to roll. The water exploding as a lightning bolt slammed into the tumultuous waves.

"See that?" Luffy asked, eyes wide as he wrapped his arms the whole way around the mast. "Way too close! We barely missed it!"

"Incredible," Vivi murmured. "Cyclones in the Grand-Line are meant to be impossible to predict. But somehow Nami did it. However she does it, it's obvious that her technique isn't based on any conventional method. It's as if she's detecting the weather with her body. It's beyond reason…A miracle." She mumbled.

"Alright!" Luffy shouted. "What are we waiting here for?! Let's find Nami a doctor!" He cried. The rest of the crew cheered in answer.

"Yeah!"

As the ship sailed away from the cyclone, none of the crew-members noticed that the rain was not hitting their faces or the cyclone was completely stationary. They didn't even notice that the water in front of them was relatively calm, in spite of a cyclone being barely a mile away. Neither did they notice the newest member of their crew panting and straining at the back of the ship, his tired body shaking with exertion. As the Going-Merry finally got out of range from the cyclone, Kaien re-joined the rest of the crew, sinking heavily to the floor. As Zoro walked past him, the swordsman looked down at Kaien with a frown.

"What were you doing through that? Slacking off?" He asked. Kaien gave Zoro a shrug, and watched the swordsman walk away with a grumble. Strangely, not long after the cyclone was finally out of sight, a thick fog came in and settled over the water and snow began falling from the sky. Kaien looked up at the white flakes and held a hand out for one the rest on. It dissolved the moment it touched his skin. He tilted his head back and relaxed as the flakes slowly danced around him and the crew.

* * *

In the cabin, Nami was back in bed with Vivi tending to her fever, a cold cloth covering her forehead and being changed every time it became warm. Vivi was now wearing a thick, white snow-jacket to shield her from the cold. The relative quiet was broken as Sanji began to run around the room, his recently added blue scarf flying around behind him.

"What are we going to do Vivi? Nami's fever won't go down!" He yelled hysterically. Carue soon joined him in his frantic running.

"Hey guys, stop! That behaviour isn't helping!" Vivi ordered. The two skidded to a halt, falling silent.

* * *

Back outside on the deck, Zoro was high up in the crow's nest with the addition of what looked like a thick blanket. Usopp was bellow the mast, wrapped in his own thick, red blanket; while Luffy seemed oblivious to the cold, wearing his normal clothing.

"See any doctors yet?" Luffy called up to Zoro. Usopp turned to Luffy with a patronising look on his face.

"Luffy, you can't be serious…"

Higher up in the crow's nest, Zoro was looking through a pair of binoculars and his eyes caught something. He saw what looked to be a blue hat and some green arrows.

"Ah… Hey guys?" He asked. "What do you think about people standing on water?" He asked, a pile of snow gathering up on his shoulders. The two below looked up in confusion.

"What? Do I think it's possible?" Luffy asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Usopp asked sceptically. "It's impossible of course."

"Yeah?" Zoro asked. "Well then," he began, raisin the binoculars back up to his eyes. "What's that?" He asked. The other two turned around in confusion.

"What's what?" Luffy asked.

"Say what?" Usopp questioned. Luffy hummed as the duo stared ahead with shocked expressions. In front of them was a large man wearing what looked like a blue jester's uniform, a thick white bearskin cloak and a now and arrows. He was standing in the middle of the water. Luffy continued to hum.

"You think he's a doctor?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Ambush! The Bliking and Wapol the Blik

_Higher up in the crow's nest, Zoro was looking through a pair of binoculars and his eyes caught something. He saw what looked to be a blue hat and some green arrows._

_"Ah… Hey guys?" He asked. "What do you think about people standing on water?" He asked, a pile of snow gathering up on his shoulders. The two below looked up in confusion._

_"What? Do I think it's possible?" Luffy asked._

_"What kind of question is that?" Usopp asked sceptically. "It's impossible of course."_

_"Yeah?" Zoro asked. "Well then," he began, raisin the binoculars back up to his eyes. "What's that?" He asked. The other two turned around in confusion._

_"What's what?" Luffy asked._

_"Say what?" Usopp questioned. Luffy hummed as the duo stared ahead with shocked expressions. In front of them was a large man wearing what looked like a blue jester's uniform, a thick white bearskin cloak and a now and arrows. He was standing in the middle of the water. Luffy continued to hum._

_"You think he's a doctor?"_

"Hello?" A voice called from out in the water, breaking what had been a rather awkward silence. "Sure is chilly today." The voice continued. Luffy and Usopp sneezed, while Zoro stared at the stranger with a mix of fascination and horror on his face.

"Yeah, it is chilly today." Luffy finally answered.

"Definitely. It's very chilling. In fact, I would even say its freezing. " Usopp agreed.

"Really?" Asked the man in the jester's outfit, still standing on the ocean. Zoro made a strained noise. There was another awkward silence as the four of them stared at each other, identical expressions of horror on their faces.

What sounded like a loud explosion filled the previously quiet air as a huge ship suddenly arose from the water underneath the Going-Merry. The Merry slipped off the side of the curved metal ship, which looked more like a submarine, and was pushed away backwards by the intense waves. Usopp tumbled head over heels down the tilting ship, while Luffy held on tightly to the rail, an even tighter grip on his straw hat.

"What _is_ that thing!?" He yelled, staring with wide eyes. "A watermelon?"

Below deck Vivi heard Luffy's yelling and started in shock, her eyes widening.

"Why are we shaking?" She cried. Sanji fell of balance sideways, barely keeping himself upright.

"Hold the rudder steady!" He yelled up to the control room. "If anything happens to Nami, I'll hold every one of you responsible!" The ship jerked and rocked as the huge submarine-ship finally rose out of the water. It was a large metal-covered, round ship with a sail and a crow's nest.

"What the hell is that? Is that a ship?" Asked Zoro, the piles of snow still unmoved from his head and shoulders. Directly below him, Kaien was looking at the strange submarine-ship in mild bemusement, body moving itself with the violent jerking of the ship; enabling him to keep his balance. The metal plating that covered the ship was wound down, exposing the interior. What looked like a tortoise head with a crown on it slowly began to rise. As it reached its set position a jolly-roger unfurled and began to ripple with the wind. Kaien looked up at the flag, frowning as he vaguely recognised the skull-and-crossbones. It was a skull with a metal jaw with a tongue sticking out, and a gold and purple crown on its head. Kaien was positive he had seen that flag before, but could not remember from where. He stopped thinking about the flag when Usopp rolled to a stop at his feet, and Kaien yanked the sniper to his feet. Usopp wobbled for a bit before catching sight of the uncovered ship.

"Oh crap! It's- It's a pirate ship!" He said, jerking backwards slightly. The ship had metal plating attached to its sides, and had five huge masts.

"It's huge!" Luffy said, eyes wide.

"Great. Just when we needed to hurry." Zoro complained, the piles of snow on his head and shoulders gradually growing. A deep laugh that sounded distinctively evil came from the huge ship, and the four that were on deck could see a huge amount of men, all wearing green and white uniforms on board.

"What's the matter!?" The voice yelled. "Don't tell me our underwater ship, The Tin Tyrant surprised you?" The voice asked before giving another bellowing laugh. Kaien and the others looked over to see Sanji running out of the cabin that housed the two girls.

"Hey! What's going on?" He asked, but stopped when his gaze caught sight of the huge ship. He pulled out his matches and casually lit his cigarette, taking a deep breath.

"So." He said, calmer than before. "What's going on?" He asked. As usual, Luffy was the one to answer him in the most useless way possible.

"Well, we're under attack." He said, as he was surrounded by the enemy's men. "And it's still snowing," he added as an afterthought. Usopp and Kaien were surrounded by men pointing guns at them. Usopp had his hands shot straight into the air, while Kaien's hands were resting on his knives, the first time any of the crew had seen him interact with his weapons. Enemy men had also somehow climbed up to the crow's nest and had surrounded Zoro. Even Sanji himself had five men with guns, aiming them right at him.

"Well yeah," Sanji said. "The guns pointing at my face kinda gave that one away." He stated frankly. "What next?" Sanji asked sarcastically.

"You all consider yourself a band of pirates?" The earlier voice asked incredulously. "Amusing. I only count five of you." The Straw-Hat's finally found themselves face to face with a person who seemed to be the captain of the invading ship. He was a short and very round man with a metal jaw, blue hair that stuck out from under what looked like a bear skin hood and jacket, and metal plated shirt. He took a bite from a piece of meat he had been chewing on and accidentally bit of most of the knife the meat had been impaled on. Luffy jerked and made a strange sound when the metal shattered, and the man continued to chew on it.

"Sort of strange," the round man continued. "That your group would have so few members." He said before opening his mouth and placing the hilt and handle of the knife inside hit, chewing it up. Zoro's face became strained and he made small noises of surprise and revulsion. Sanji's face was a bit more dramatic, though had the same expression on it. Luffy grimaced and look at the man in mild disgust.

"Okay, that's just weird." He said. "What kind of guy likes to eat knives?" He asked, drawing out the last word for emphasis. Usopp literally blanched in repulsion.

"My gums are bleeding just watching!" Usopp moaned. Kaien looked on in mild disgust, but more curiosity, recognising the skill for what it was. A devil fruit power. He kept this information to himself however. They may be his new crew, but that didn't mean he trusted them just yet.

"Alright, I'll keep this simple." The fat guy began. "See, my men and I want to travel to Drum Kingdom. You wouldn't happen to have an eternal pose or a logpose would you?" He asked nonchalantly, still chewing on his knife.

"Nope, can't help." Sanji answered for the crew before Luffy or Usopp could answer and possibly ruin everything. "Sorry, but I've never even heard of this Drum Kingdom."

"Well, now that we have that all settled, would you guys just leave already? We're in a hurry and we don't have time to deal with all this." Luffy grumbled.

"You'll never enjoy life if you're always in a rush," the fat captain said, somewhat wisely. "But if you have neither pose, what can be done?" He asked rhetorically. "I suppose I'll have to settle for your treasure on this ship." He stated. Luffy's head jerked up.

"Huh!?"

"First things first," he chuckled. "I'm feeling a bit hungry." He then proceeded to widen his jaw and take a bite out of the Going-Merry. Sanji made a strangled noise in surprise and his eyebrow jerked to his hairline.

"He's a ship eating monster!" Usopp cried.

"Hey! Our ship isn't your lunch!" Luffy yelled at the man eating the Merry angrily.

"Be quiet!" One of the men surrounding Luffy said. "Wapol doesn't like to be disturbed while he's eating!" The man shoved a gun into Luffy's face.

"Shut up!" Luffy shouted, punching both men into the floor.

"Damn pirate!" Another of Wapol's men cursed. "We're under attack! Shoot him!" He ordered, raising his own gun and pointing it at Luffy. The rest of the men followed suit and fired. Up in the crow's nest, Zoro smirked at them.

"Now things are finally starting to get interesting." He said as he grabbed the blanket and threw it in front of the men surrounding him, covering their vision.

"Perfect!" Sanji said happily. "This is more like it." He said as he pulled of his scarf.

"Stop it! Can't we discuss this!?" Usopp cried as he climbed down the mast, somehow having gotten up in during the previous conversation. Kaien slid behind some crates which somehow protected him from the bullets. The soldiers were pretty bad shots anyway, so most didn't even hit the crate he was sitting behind.

A soldier fired at Sanji, who jumped over the bullet and as he landed, spun on one leg, sending the other out in a fierce kick, wrapping his leg around the man's head and slamming him into the ground.

"You shouldn't take on anything you can't handle!" He taunted. Three men cocked their guns, aiming towards Sanji, but he spun quickly on his hands and knocked all three of the out with his legs. He knocked another one while he was still spinning, and pushed up with his hands to land feet first on the head of another soldier. Using his powerful leg muscles, he launched himself towards a man running at him with a sword, frog-leapt over his back and kicked the man behind him in the neck. He then consecutively kicked three men towards the mast Usopp was hiding behind, causing the sniper to stagger backwards in an attempt not to be hit. Further up that same mast, two men went flying out from the crow's nest, followed by Zoro who ran down the mast, two swords drawn. Zoro moved faster than anyone could see, and as he ran past four men, he slashed them and crossed his swords over, causing each to fall with a terrible wound. Zoro was quickly cornered by four men, and outmanoeuvring them, dodged two blows before swinging his own swords. The crowd of men quickly fell to his blades.

"All bark no bite." Zoro mocked with a grin. He then jerked in surprise as a knife flew by his face, narrowly missing his cheek bone. He turned in shock to see the blade embedded in the chest of an enemy who had been standing behind Zoro, sword raised. He turned back to the origin of the blade and only saw a blur of black and white, with a long red scarf flowing behind. Kaien moved smoothly through the enemies, cutting them down with the two long knives he held in each hand. Occasionally a soldier would seem to slip and fall out of nowhere, but Kaien wasted no time on them, blocking and manoeuvring his way through the surrounding crowd of enemies. Zoro looked around his crew and saw each member staring at Kaien.

"Knew he was a good fighter!" Luffy exclaimed happily, before turning back to his own battle.

"He seems better than you with blades, stupid moss-head." Sanji said as he kicked a man towards Zoro. Zoro quickly cut the man down and glared at Sanji.

"Shut up you stupid cook! Knives and swords are completely different!" Zoro shouting, taking out his anger by turning and cutting down a machete wielding soldier who was chasing the screaming Usopp.

"Hey, Wapol! We need help!" A soldier called out, slightly backing away from the destruction being caused by the Straw-Hats. Wapol seemed oblivious, continuing to eat pieces of the Going-Merry. Luffy caught sight of him and yelled in anger, punching away the soldier's in-between him and Wapol.

"You're still eating!?" Luffy shouted, disbelievingly.

"Ship doesn't taste half bad…" Wapol muttered to himself.

"Hey you!" Luffy screamed at Wapol, trying to get his attention away from the Going-Merry. Luffy ran up towards Wapol, ready to hit the metal-jawed man with everything he had.

"You fool!" A soldier with a thin moustache shouted. "You're not match for Wapol!"

"Now you'll be eaten by the power of the Munch-Munch fruit!" Another soldier crowed. Luffy continued to run at Wapol, but jerked backwards in surprise when Wapol's mouth opened extremely wide. Luffy shot his hands backwards in order to pull himself away from the metal-jaw, but it was too late. "Luffy, no!" Usopp shouted, still running from the other soldiers. Kaien glanced up from his most recently defeated enemy and frowned slightly.

"Munch-Munch fruit…" he muttered. A glint of silver caught his eye and he turned just in time to catch a falling sword with his right blade. His left quickly knocked his opponent out, smashing the hilt into the side of the man's head. Just behind Kaien, Vivi ran out of the cabin just in time to see Wapol's teeth close over Luffy's body, leaving his arms stretching out behind him.

"What is this?" Vivi asked in stunned confusion. Sanji appeared next to her, arms crossed and relaxed.

"Oh, hey there Vivi." He said, as if his captain hadn't just been eaten by another human. "Everything okay with Nami?" He asked. Vivi stared at him in surprise. Just next to them, Zoro finished up by sheathing his swords. He watched with a bland face as Luffy's hands continued to shoot backwards, going more than a hundred metres from the ship. Luffy's angry shout came from Wapol's mouth as the hands began to retract like a rubber band.

"I'd prefer someone less chewy," Wapol complained as he attempted to chew Luffy up, Luffy's rubber skin making it impossible.

"I said," Luffy began. "Leave!" He shouted, as his hands snapped right back with intense speed, hitting Wapol hard enough that Luffy was spat out, at the man himself went flying through the air. What remaining crew members Wapol had were staring at Luffy in astonishment and horror. When the fat form of Wapol could no longer be seen, Usopp gave a thumbs up and laughed. The rest of the crew gave their own chuckles, save Kaien and Vivi; both of whom were still staring after Wapol. Vivi in shock, while Kaien was merely curious. There was a silence, as Wapol's men attempted to comprehend what had just occurred.

"This is bad! He sent Wapol flying out into the ocean!" The jester clothed man exclaimed, worried at his bosses lack of swimming ability. Every pirate, marine or sea-goer in the entire world knew that once a person ate a devil fruit, due to their new abilities, the sea rejected them and they lost their ability to swim. The sea also drained them completely of their strength, leaving them unable to escape from large amounts of water.

"Bad!? It's worse, it's a disaster! Wapol's going to drown, he can't swim!" A man next to the jester shouted. He had a large black afro and what looked like matching gloves on his hands.

"Recall the troops!" The jester ordered as the tortoise's mouth at the front of the ship opened, and extending a ladder down to the Going-Merry. The remaining men on the Merry grabbed their injured and unconscious comrades and quickly escaped.

"There's no time to waste! We have to rescue him before he sinks to the bottom! Go! Go! Go!" The jester yelled frantically. The furious jester turned towards the Straw-Hat pirates.

"This is far from over!" He declared. "You'll pay! I promise you'll pay!"

"You're dead!" The man with the afro threatened. "You brats!"

"You'd better hope Wapol doesn't die-" began the jester.

"Or it's your blood we'll spill!" The man with the afro finished angrily as the ship began to quickly sail in the direction Wapol had disappeared to. "We'll get you for this!" His voice began fading as the ship sailed further and further away from the Going-Merry. On the front deck, the crew stood in a group; watching the Tin Tyrant sail away. Luffy had a furious look on his face and was at the forefront of the group. Usopp and Zoro were behind him, identical expressions of annoyance on their faces. Sanji a and Kaien stood behind the other two, both looking apathetic about the situation. Vivi stood at the very back, face still expressing her shock.

"Wow," Usopp said after a long silence. "Crazy… Those guys were really upset." He stated.

"Wouldn't you be?" Kaien asked. Usopp looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"How would you feel if someone had sent Luffy flying into the ocean, knowing he was unable to swim?" Kaien asked in elaboration. Usopp's face fell.

"I guess I'd be pretty angry too…" There was a pause. "But weren't they calling that old garbage can Wapol?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Who cares about what his name was," Sanji said dismissively. "Don't worry about it. The guy's obviously a moron. It's best to just forget about him." Sanji proposed. Behind him, Vivi raised a hand to her chin in thought.

"I know him…but from where?" She asked herself. Kaien looked over to her, having asked himself the same question multiple times. There was another silence over the crew, broken when Kaien began walking away. The others watched him walk over to a shady area under the trees, lie down and go to sleep. They stared at him.

"I think he's worse than you Zoro." Usopp stating. A fist to the head was his answer.

"Okay, we should get back to work. We need to find a doctor for Nami." Vivi said, headed back below deck. The others murmured an affirmative and heading to their posts.

* * *

Later on in the afternoon, the Going-Merry was sailing smoothly, the afternoon sun glinting beautifully off the water, giving the ocean an orange, yellow and pink shine. Beneath the deck of the Merry, Nami lay in the bed; fever worse than ever. Luffy, Vivi, Sanji and Carue stood beside her bed, watching her with worry.

"Maybe… Are you sure she isn't just hungry?" Luffy suggested. Sanji gave him a look. Luffy ignored it, or simply didn't see it. "If that's the reason that Nami's like this, then maybe we should try feeding her lots of meat!" He exclaimed happily.

"Shut up," Sanji sighed, rubbing the back of his head. His captain was such an idiot sometimes.

"C'mon Nami! Cheer up!" Luffy whined, stretching his eyes and tying them around his head in order to get the girl to laugh, smile, or do anything by lie in the bed. "Look! Check this out, you're gonna love it!" He said as he twisted his chin and tied his nose into a bow. He waggled his fingers at her and grinned, making stupid noises. When Nami didn't move his face darkened, and terror appeared on it.

"No change!" He said fearfully. He watched her laboured breathing and red face for a little while longer. "I know." He said. The others waited for his suggestion. "Douse her in water! That'll fix her." There was another silence as the two beside him digested his words, when they did, they spoke and moved simultaneously.

"You idiot!" They yelled at him, Sanji raising his leg and kicking him, while Vivi gave the captain a solid punch. He went flying towards the back of the room and slammed into the wall. Ignoring his captain, Sanji turned back to Vivi.

"This isn't good. The sun is beginning to set and she's still the same."

"Yeah… Right. Maybe it would be best if we dropped anchor somewhere. We can't navigate at night anyway without the help of Nami's instructions." Vivi said quietly. Sanji crossed his arms and in the background, the painting above Luffy slipped from its hold on the wall.

"That's true," Sanji agreed as the painting landed directly on Luffy's face. The order was quickly passed onto those above deck and the Merry was soon sitting steady, anchor in the water. The crew ate a quiet dinner and went to bed, worry for their navigator thick in the air. Later that night, at two in the morning Nami's eyes slowly opened. Vivi was leaning on her bed, snoring softly, and Nami pushed herself into a sitting position, the wet cloth falling from her forehead. She panted for a moment, trying to find her strength before she looked to the side. Usopp was leaning up against a table, dead asleep with Luffy's leg wrapped around his neck. Luffy himself still had the painting on his face and was spread eagled on the floor. Carue was lying on his side, wrapped in a blanket and Zoro was using the bird as a pillow. Kaien had somehow ended up under both Luffy's and Zoro's legs, his head propped up by his red scarf. All of them were sound asleep and snoring gently. Nami watched them for a moment with a gentle smile. The smile turned to an expression of terror when Usopp suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, you want my autograph?" He asked, still asleep. "I'm so famous!" He exclaimed before his head fell back down and he went stationary. Nami took a deep breath and smiled at them again before re-wrapping her blanket around her body and going back to sleep.

* * *

Up above deck, at the highest point of the ship; Sanji was smoking, shaking and wrapped in a thick blanket.

"Sure is a cold one," he commented to himself. Sanji looked up at the sky for a moment. "Almost a full moon," he mused. Sanji dutifully stood guard for the rest of the night, if only to protect his beloved Nami and Vivi. Maybe those other louts as well…Maybe…Or not.

When morning came, the sound of a hammer being pounded on woods was the early wake up call for those still sleeping. A group which Sanji had joined at one point in the night. When he awoke, Sanji shivered violently before realising what had happened.

"Crap I fell asleep," he cursed. Below him on the deck, Usopp was dutifully repairing the bite marks Wapol had made in his beloved ship. Sanji got up and walked over to the railing, looking down at Usopp.

"You're up early." Sanji called down.

"Can't just sit around doing nothing." Usopp replied, nails between his teeth muffling his voice. "We gotta find a way out of this jam as quick as possible." He said, rhythmically hammering the nails into the ship. Sanji looked down at him thoughtfully.

"You're right. It's a good point." He said as he raised a fresh cigarette to his lips.

Back down in Nami's quartes, Luffy had resorted back to making funny faces at Nami. Zoro began walking down the stairs, clad in a thick, long blue jacket and looked at his captain in confusion.

"C'mon Nami, would you look? This is weird, why won't you wake up and smile?" He asked as Zoro came up behind him.

"What's going on Luffy?" Zoro asked, making his captain jump in surprise. He turned around the face his first-mate, who jerked backwards in mild horror, falling to the ground. Luffy had drawn eyes on his eyelids, closed them, drawn thick eyebrows on his head and pulled his lips out in a huge smile. When he saw his swordsman fall, he stuck his tongue out, letting it stretch and pulling on his face some more, making roaring sounds.

"Would you quit it!? It's creeping me out!" Zoro demanded. Luffy ignored him and proceeded to stretch his mouth even further. The commotion woke Kaien up, who was still lying on the ground, sleeping. He sat up, looked at the spectacle in front of him and sighed. The two ignored him and he picked himself up, wrapped his scarf back around his neck and walked up on deck. By that point Usopp had nearly finished repairs, Carue watching on impassively.

"Say Usopp," Sanji said, still up in the crow's nest; now sporting a black jacket and a dark blue scarf.

"Does this area seem unusually calm and cold?" He asked. Usopp thought for a moment, continuing to work.

"Yeah…" He agreed thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, it sure does." He said as Vivi walked out onto the deck. "To be honest, it's freaking me out." Usopp confessed. "The Grand-Line just keeps getting stranger." He mumbled.

"That's not necessarily true." Vivi said, having overheard Usopp's quiet words. Usopp paused in his work and turned towards her.

"Huh?"

"Maybe there's an Island nearby." She stated hopefully. Kaien then walked out behind her, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. He was still wearing his tunic, vest, scarf, pants and boots. Not a single piece of warm clothing was on his body; excluding the scarf since he seemed to wear that even in the boiling heat. Kaien walked past Vivi, down towards the tangerine trees and leant against the tree, content to relax and listen to the conversation. That was on thing he liked about this crew. He could just relax and listen to them talk without having to be involved.

"Hey Sanji," Vivi called up to the chef. "Could you check the horizon for any sign of land?"

"Sure thing," he answered and looked out over the sea.

"There's a winter island somewhere nearby," Vivi continued.

"Winter Island?" Sanji asked as Usopp hit his hand with a hammer, crying out loudly in pain.

"Scattered within the Grand-Line, there are four basic types of islands, made distinct by their various climates. You've got summer islands, spring islands, autumn islands and of course winter islands. Each one has its own four independent seasons. When travelling on the Grand-Line, there are at least sixteen different types of weather patterns you must be prepared to endure. Ranging from Summer Island's summer, to Winter Island's winter and everything in between. There can always be exceptions to this and you can even encounter unknown climates at any given moment."

"I think I get it." Usopp said. "The Grand-Line has all these different islands, one after the other. And that's the reason why the seas between them have such crazy, unstable weather patterns!" He exclaimed.

"Correct. And the closer you get to an island, the calmer the sea is around you, which is why I asked Sanji to start looking for land." She explained. Mere seconds later Sanji's voice could be faintly heard from above.

"That's it. I see it!" He called, binoculars to his eyes. The others gasped and turned to where he was facing. Far ahead of them, where the island blending in to the water, was what seemed like a giant block of ice. Sanji grinned up above.

"Island dead ahead!" He shouted, voice ringing in the silence. Down in the cabin, Luffy heard his voice and looked up with a grin.

"Are you serious!? Oh an island. We found an island!" He exclaimed. He started bouncing his right leg up and down and Zoro watched him impassively from his position leaning against the bookcase.  
"Did you hear that Nami? That means we can get you to a real doctor! He'll fix you up!" Luffy proclaimed. "Wake up! Wake up. Wake. Up. Wake. Up. Wake. Up. Wake. Up. Wa-" He was cut off from his chanting by Zoro who had gotten fed up with the noise.

"Just go look, I've got it covered." He said. Luffy was still for a moment before he sprinted out of the room. He jumped on the goat's head at the front of the ship and let out a loud yell of excitement.

"There it is!" He yelled as it came into view. "Nami's saved! Alright! It's snow! Snow Island!" He named the island casually. Sanji was behind him and sighed.

"Whoa, Luffy wait. So there's no misunderstanding between us. We're stopping to find Nami a doctor. We're not here to have an adventure." Sanji said. "Are we clear?" He asked.

"I love snow," Luffy moaned, ignoring Sanji completely. "It's so white!"

"It's no use, he's gone…" Sanji said, giving up. Beside him, Usopp was shaking and sweating.

"H-hold on! You sure this is a good idea? There could be snow monsters! Besides, we don't even know if there are people there or not…" He moaned. "Oh no!" Usopp yelled suddenly. "I'm having a relapse of my don't-go-to-the-island disease!" He wailed.

"Snow!" Luffy continued happily. "It's so white and beautiful!"

"Guess I'll get ready for the inevitable," Sanji said wearily. The island ahead of them was covered in ice and snow, with six giant, round mountains sticking out from the ground. The ship reached the island and entered a small river that lead further into the island. It had pine trees covering the ground on both sides. The crew stared in awe at the towering mountains ahead.

"I'm so happy!" Luffy cried excitedly. "Look at the snow!"

"Look at the mountains," Sanji said disregarding his captain. "They're unlike anything I've ever seen!"

"Say Luffy," Usopp asked, shaking from the cold. "Aren't you cold dressed like that?" Usopp vaguely noticed Kaien not wearing much in the way of warm clothing either, but he was better off than Luffy.

"It's ten degrees below freezing out here!" Vivi said. "That's when bears get ready to hibernate."

Luffy looked back at his crew in surprise.

"Huh? Oh boy…" He said. He was still for a moment before stiffening. "Cold!" He yelled, wrapped his arms around his arms.

"You _just_ figured that out!?" Usopp and Sanji shouted angrily. Ahead of them was a dead end, a small waterfall were the water from the lake came from. The Merry halted and the crew looked around; Zoro having joined the others up on the deck.

"It's a stream of melted snow. This may provide a good spot to disembark." She said to Zoro. Zoro looked over his shoulder at the other.

"Okay guys, doctor search. Who wants in?" He asked. "Guess we gotta find people here first…" He mumbled. Luffy raised a hand, clad in a newly added red parka jacket with thick green gloves.

"I'm in!" Shouted Luffy.

"Me too!" Sanji said.

"Fine, go have fun!" Usopp said dramatically. Kaien was quiet, willing to go where-ever he needed to, but also content to remain on the ship.

"That's far enough, pirates!" A voice called out from the shoreline suddenly. The crew looked around to see that they were surrounded by men with guns. Again.

"People." Luffy stated. "Well that was easy." He said.

"Yeah, nice." Usopp said sarcastically. "But they don't seem too friendly." The others looked around, and surely enough; all the people had masks of hatred and anger on their faces. A large man stepped forward from the others, wearing a green and gold jacket and a white and green hood.

"I'll only say this once," the man said. "Your kind is not welcome here. Leave immediately." He ordered.

"We only came here to find a doctor," Luffy protested.

"We have someone who's sick!" Vivi added.

"You'll have to do better than that!" A man yelled. "We won't fall for that old trick!"

"This is our island!" Another shouted. "We won't let any filthy pirates land here!"

"Raise anchor and leave now!" A different one yelled. "Or we'll blow you _and_ your ship out of the water!"

"That's great…" Sanji moaned. "We barely said hello and they already hate us."

"Get out of here!" A man shouted, firing at Sanji's feet. Sanji was jerked backwards by a hand on his scarf and the bullet barely missed his right food, having been forced to stumble backwards. Sanji turned and saw Kaien holding onto his scarf. He nodded in thanks at the older man, and Kaien let go, stepping back from Sanji.

"Look out!" Usopp shouted, a bit too late. Sanji turned back to the men and his face darkened.

"That was a mistake." He growled. The man who fired the shock stumbled back in fear. As Sanji began to run at the man, Vivi called for him.

"Sanji, stop!" She grabbed him around the shoulders and held him back. A gun was pointed at the duo and a shot was fired. The loud sound exploded through the air, ringing in a long echo. Vivi fell sidewards. The crew looked on in horror as she hit the deck.

"Vivi!" Luffy screamed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – An Island without Doctors? Adventure in a Nameless Land! Part 1

_"Get out of here!" A man shouted, firing at Sanji's feet. Sanji was jerked backwards by a hand on his scarf and the bullet barely missed his right food, having been forced to stumble backwards. Sanji turned and saw Kaien holding onto his scarf. He nodded in thanks at the older man, and Kaien let go, stepping back from Sanji._

_"Look out!" Usopp shouted, a bit too late. Sanji turned back to the men and his face darkened._

_"That was a mistake." He growled. The man who fired the shock stumbled back in fear. As Sanji began to run at the man, Vivi called for him._

_"Sanji, stop!" She grabbed him around the shoulders and held him back. A gun was pointed at the duo and a shot was fired. The loud sound exploded through the air, ringing in a long echo. Vivi fell sidewards. The crew looked on in horror as she hit the deck._

_"Vivi!" Luffy screamed._

Vivi lay still on the ground, lying on her side with her long blue hair stretched out behind her. The man who had pulled the trigger looked stunned and took a step back. Luffy quickly turned and ran over to Vivi, worry spread on his face.

"Vivi!" He yelled. When Luffy saw that Vivi was lying completely still his face turned furious. He turned towards the men on the shore, his dark, angry expression enough to make a few of them step back. "Why, you!" He shouted at them. The shout seemed to have broken the men out of their stupor and they all cocked their guns again.

"Ready, aim!" One of the men shouted, and the others aimed their guns at the pirates. Each member of the crew tensed and got into a fighting stance, ready for an all-out brawl. Luffy growled angrily and ran towards the edge of the ship, intent on destroying those who hurt his friend. He and the others were immensely surprised when Vivi scrambled to her feet and wrapped her arms around him, stopping Luffy in the same manner she had stopped Sanji earlier on.

"Stop it!" She ordered. The others looked on in shock. "Fighting is not going to help anything! I'm fine Luffy, it only grazed my arm." She explained, still holding the captain back. Vivi slowly went to her hands and knees and looked at the leader of the men.

"It's alright, we won't land." She said, pressing her forehead to the ground in a bow. "But can you please get us a Doctor? Our friend is dying from a serious illness. I'm begging you! Please help us!" Vivi pleaded. Luffy gaped at her.

"Vivi…" He murmured.

"You are not fit to be the captain of this ship Luffy," Vivi criticized. "Not everything can be fixed by rushing to start a fight."

"But Vivi-" Luffy protested, halting when Kaien placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She is correct Luffy, as hard as it may be to admit. There are many times when a captain must think about his crew and of the possible consequences of his actions, and though it may seem cowardly," Kaien said. "Sometimes the best thing to do is to stand your ground, or even retreat. The only things fighting can absolutely guarantee are injuries."

Luffy was quiet, looking down at the ground. He saw a few drops of blood fall from Vivi's shoulder where the gash was visible.

"We can't get into a fight here. Think about Nami," she said, emphasising Kaien's previous point. "What would happen to her?" Luffy thought back to Nami, lying motionless in the bed below deck, struggling to take her every breath. Luffy turned back to the enemy, face emotionless.

"Yeah. Right. I'm sorry about that." He said quietly. Kaien let go of his shoulder and took a step back.

"Please help us," Luffy asked bending down to get on his knees. "Call a doctor." He asked. His head went to the floor in an imitation of Vivi and his precious hat fell from his head. "Our friend needs you." There was a silence as the men on the shoreline watched with varying expressions as two members of the pirate crew humbly went on their knees and begged for help. The leader of the men appraised the two on the floor, his gaze flickering for a moment over to the four men still standing and then back to the two on their knees.

"I'll show you to our village." He stated. Vivi's head lifted from the floor in surprise. "Follow me." He said and turned, walking away from the ship. The rest of the men looked at the pirates for a moment before following their leader. Vivi smiled and turned to Luffy, whose face was still pressed hard to the deck.

"See Luffy?" She asked. "Just ask politely." Luffy turned to face her, his cheek still pressed against the wood.

"Yeah," he agreed. "You're incredible Vivi." He praised. Vivi smiled at him again. The two climbed to their feet before Luffy went into captain mode, a rarity in itself.

"Vivi, go get some warm clothes on Nami. Sanji, pack some spare food and water; just in case." He ordered. The two quickly ran off to follow his orders. "Zoro and Usopp, you tie the ship up and get it settled." The two quickly went about their duties. That left Kaien and Luffy alone on the deck of the ship.

"Well done." Kaien complemented as he walked past the young captain. Luffy bent down and picked up his hat, replacing it on his head.

"I guess…" He said and was quiet for a moment. Kaien jumped from the ship to the shore, easily making the distance. Luffy looked up at the older male in seriousness.

"Is what you said true?" He asked. Kaien hummed in question. "Is it really better to run away?" Luffy elaborated. Kaien looked down at him with expressionless eyes.

"You have been asking yourself the wrong question. It's not: 'Is it better to run away'. The question you should be asking is this;" Kaien said. "What is more important to you? Your crew? Or your pride?" With those words Kaien turned and walked up along the snow, getting further from the ship. Luffy grinned at him.

"You really _were_ a captain!" He exclaimed. Kaien turned back to him, a small smile on his face.

"You doubted me? How insulting."

Luffy laughed at him as the rest of the crew returned from their duties, Nami dressed in a warm checkered jacket, settled on Sanji's back.

"What's so funny?" Zoro asked, fixing up his swords into the correct position. Luffy turned and grinned at him.

"Captain stuff. Don't worry about it." And then proceeded to fling himself after Kaien who had begun to walk off. "Hurry up guys! Or we'll lose them!" He shouted. The crew groaned and quickly followed after their captain. By the time the Straw-Hat Pirates had caught up to the fighters, they were in the middle of a snowy plain, with snow covered pine trees scattered throughout. The huge line of people trudged up the hill, feet sinking into the thick snow. It was quiet, apart from the sound of wind and the squeak of snow being trodden on.

"There is one thing I feel I should warn you about," the leader of soldiers said. "The only doctor we actually have here is a witch." Behind him, Vivi, Luffy and Usopp looked at him in surprise, each bundled up tightly in warm clothing.

"A witch?" Usopp asked, pulling the hood further over his face. Just behind him was Kaien, walking casually in his tunic and vest.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sanji moaned. He was leaning forward slightly. His hands held two ends of a sword that had been leant to him by one of the soldiers, and Nami was perched on the sword, leaning over Sanji's back with her arms hanging limply over his shoulder. "Everything about this island is messed up." Sanji complained. There was a momentary silence. "What do you call this weird place anyway?" Sanji asked. The leader turned his head to look at the chef. He huffed slightly before answering.

"Actually, this land still doesn't have a name." He confessed.

"An island without a name?" Vivi asked. "I didn't know that was possible…" There was another silence, which was broken by Usopp's fearful scream.

"Ah! A bear!" He screamed, and scrambled backwards towards Kaien, hiding behind the older man and clutching the back of his vest. Usopp didn't know why, but he'd always felt comfortable in the man's presence, even though they'd met only a few days ago. He had asked around and most of the crew felt the same way. Kaien was like an older brother that you could trust with your secrets and protection. Usopp didn't know why he felt that way, but that was just the sense he got.

"Hurry everyone!" He continued from behind Kaien. "Pretend to be dead!" He shouted before collapsing onto Kaien's back, causing the latter to stumble forward. Kaien turned around and looked down at the now floored Usopp with a frown. The leader of the group looked back at the duo for a moment before looking ahead to see a large, fluffy bear holding a pick-axe.

"A hiking bear." He explained. "It poses no threat. Don't forget to bow. It's proper manners." The man instructed before tilting his upper body towards the bear. Everyone behind him followed suit, including Kaien who was now carrying the 'dead' Usopp under his arm. The bear bowed to the group of men and women before continuing calmly on its way. As it went past. Usopp tilted his head up to look back.

"It's gone," he whispered to Kaien.

"Yeah." Kaien agreed, continuing to carry Usopp. Deciding he preferred this than walking, Usopp stayed silent and let Kaien haul him up the hill.

* * *

At the Going-Merry, Zoro sat on a crate on the deck of the Merry flexing his ankles.

"Nice, that's much better." He said, before laughing and clapping his feet together. Carue shivered under a blanket in front of him and quacked pathetically. "Now I can finally get back to some _real_ training. I was getting sick of that modified training that I had to do with my stupid injury." Zoro said happily. "Besides, just watching the ship is boring as _hell._" He complained. He quickly stripped down to the waist and held his hands together in front of him.

"Maybe, some ice-water swimming will help me clear up my head a bit." He said. Carue was floored and the stupidity of the idea. He took a deep breath and looked up at the mountains.

"Those morons better hurry up and find a doctor."

* * *

The morons in question had finally made it to a cosy looking village, with pink brick houses.

"This is our village." The leader introduced. "Its name is Bighorn."

"Look at all the weird animals walking around everywhere." Luffy whispered to Usopp.

"Well yeah," Usopp responded. "This _is_ snow country!"

"Look Nami, we've made it to a village with people." Sanji told the unconscious Nami. Vivi was behind him, keeping Nami steady on his back.

"Thanks for the help everyone," the leader told the rest of the men. Vivi turned in confusion. "If you're not a guard, you can return to your work." He told them.

"Are you completely certain that you'll be alright by yourself?" One question.

"They _are_ pirates." Another added, glancing over towards the pirates with distrust.

"I believe these people mean us no harm," the leader placated. "That's my hunch anyway. You can trust me on that." He finished. The men began muttering amongst themselves. After some discussion, they decided to leave their leader with the pirates.

"Alright Dalton," they told the leader. "We'll leave them to you." One man said as the group began to disperse.

"Even so," another added. "Be careful Dalton." Dalton turned back to the pirates to see Vivi looking up at him in confusion.

"You mean those men weren't your lands security forces?" She asked the huge man.

"No," Dalton replied. "They're just ordinary citizens," He said as he started to walk away.

"Hey! Look over there Luffy!" Usopp shouted to the captain that was right next to him. "It's one of those hiking bears!" He shouted. Luffy turned around with a frown.

"Another one?" He groaned. In front of them was a large woman with a brown coat and red scarf.

"Hello Dalton, I heard pirates landed on the island. I hope everything's alright." The woman said, walking past the boys towards Dalton. The two pirates had immediately bowed as she headed towards them. Kaien walked up in front of the duo and crouched down, so he was eye level with them.

"Kaien," Luffy whined. "You have to bow! It's respectful." Kaien sighed.

"That's not a hiking bear. It's a woman. A _human_ woman." He told them. Their jaws fell open.

"Seriously?" Usopp asked.

"Seriously. I suggest you straighten up before you embarrass yourselves further, or cause offense to that woman." He suggested. The two immediately straightened up, and then proceeded to stare, unabashed at the woman. Kaien sighed and walked away, giving up.

"Yes everything's fine," Dalton replied to the woman. "There's nothing to be worried about." The woman walked off, the two boys still staring after her. An old man walked past and smiled at Dalton.

"Just want you to know Dalton, I look forward to the election in two days. Everyone I've talked to says they're going to vote for you!" The man said enthusiastically. Dalton's face fell.

"I'm sure you're not serious about that. I'm just an ordinary citizen, that's all." Dalton protested. Vivi watched him with an intense expression.

"Come with me." Dalton said to the pirates, once he had stopped talking to the people. He led them to his house, and into a room with a bed.

"You can use that bed there. I'm going to warm the place up." Dalton said. Nami was quickly tucked into the bed by Vivi, while the Sanji in the middle of the room. Dalton took a big shield of his shoulder and rested it against the wall.

"I guess I should introduce myself," he said. "My name is Dalton. I'm the captain of the island's security squad." He said. "Please forgive our… less than friendly welcome." He apologized. He looked around the room before his eyes settled on Vivi.

"Excuse me, but may I ask you a question?" He asked. Vivi turned to him in confusion. "It's just that…" His eyes narrowed. "You look familiar to me for some reason." Vivi jerked and turned away.

"N-no! I just… I just have one of those faces I guess." She said, flustered. "Anyway," she said in an attempt to change the subject. Dalton saw right through her. "Can you tell us more about the doctor. Or witch, if that's what she is?" She asked. "Nami's fever is 107!" She exclaimed. Dalton's eyes widened in shock.

"How long has she had the fever?" Dalton asked urgently.

"It's been several days and it just keeps getting higher." Vivi answered sadly.

"I see…" Dalton murmured. "She'll likely die if it gets any worse."

"Yes, but we have no idea what the illness is, much less how to treat it. We don't know how to help her…" Vivi said quietly.

"We've got to find a doctor as soon as possible!" Sanji said loudly. "Any doctor will do! Where is this witch of yours?" He asked agitatedly. Dalton took a step forward.

"The witch? Do you see those mountains outside the window?" Dalton asked.

"Yeah," Sanji said. "I noticed them earlier." He turned to look out the window, only to see a giant, and badly made snowman blocking to view.

"Super-massive snowman!" Luffy shouted from outside. The snowman that Sanji could see belonged to Luffy.

"And the feared snow-beast; Snowzilla!" Usopp added, gesturing to his snow dinosaur. Just next to him, Kaien stood with his hands hanging by his side. He lifted one up and gestured to the snow creature at his side.

"Dragon." He said bluntly. Luffy and Usopp quickly crowded around it, making noises of appreciation. It was a very well sculptured dragon, looking extremely life-like.

"Whoa!" Shouted Luffy. "That's so cool!"

"It looks so lifelike!" Usopp exclaimed, circling the sculpture. "How did you know what a dragon looks like?" He asked. Kaien just shrugged, a small smile on his lips. They all jumped, Luffy and Usopp more than Kaien, when Sanji's furious voice exploded from the small house next to them.

"Get it here before I kill you!" He shouted forcefully. In their haste to get inside the house, Usopp and Luffy managed to completely decimate the snow-sculptures. Kaien walked in slowly at his own pace, ignoring the cooks fierce glare. Luffy and Usopp settled on the ground, warm cups in their frozen hands. Kaien was sitting against the door, leaning his head back comfortably.

"Those mountains are known as the Drum Rockies." Dalton continued from before. "Look closely. Can you see the castle on top of the tallest one in the middle?" He asked.

"Castle?" Usopp asked, somewhat sceptical.

"That castle has lost its king." Dalton said gravely.

"Yeah, I see it up there." Sanji said.

"What's so important about the castle?" Vivi asked.

"That castle is where our lands only doctor lives. Doctor Kureha. She's the one who people here call the witch." Dalton explained.

"What?" Usopp asked.

"Of all places, why does she have to live on top a mountain!? We need to call her here right now. Nami needs her help!" Sanji yelled in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there's no way to contact her." Dalton said somewhat sadly.

"You can't be serious!" Sanji shouted. "What kind of a doctor is she!?"

"Her skills as a doctor are quite impressive actually," Dalton said. "However she's an eccentric old woman. She's nearly one-hundred and forty years old now…" He mused.

"A hundred and forty? No wonder she doesn't get around much!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Oh, and one more thing…" Dalton said in an afterthought. "She likes pickled-plums."

"What happens when people here get sick or injured? Does she help them?" Vivi asked. Dalton turned from where he was gazing into the fire.

"She comes down from the mountain whenever she feels like it. She looks around for patients, she treats them and then before she leaves she takes whatever she wants from their houses as payment."

"She doesn't sound like a very nice lady." Usopp said grudgingly, sipping at his drink.

"She sounds like a pirate." Luffy pointed out.

"But how is a woman as old as she is, capable of getting down that mountain?" Vivi asked incredulously. Dalton frowned slightly.

"It's an odd rumour around here. Several villagers claim they've seen her at night, riding a sleigh of some kind through the sky. They see a silhouette when the moon is out. That's the reason she is thought to be a witch. There are others who say they've seen her with a strange creature. A creature that none of them recognise." He said. Usopp squeaked in fear, tensing up.

"I knew it! A snow monster! Where there's snow, there's got to be a snow monster! Oh, I knew there'd be one! Oh, no!" He cried frantically, thrashing around on the floor. Somehow none of the liquid in his half full cup fell out. The crew and Dalton ignored him.

"Doctor Kureha is the only doctor we have, but she's still a woman I would prefer to stay away from." Dalton warned. "All we can do is wait until the next time she decides to come down the mountain.

"Really?" Vivi asked.

"No! Dammit…" Sanji swore. "We can't wait here for that long. Nami is getting even worse as we speak." Sanji said, and then turned around to find Luffy bending over Nami, gently smacking her cheek and calling out her name.

"Luffy you idiot! What are you doing to her!?" Vivi, Sanji and Usopp shouted simultaneously. To all of their surprise, Nami's eyes slowly opened.

"Look she's awake!" Luffy cried. Luffy bent over her face and waited until she was looking at him. "Here's the thing. The only way to see the doctor is to climb the mountain. So we're going to have to climb the mountain." He stated casually.

"Are you crazy?" Sanji asked disbelievingly. "What about Nami? How do you expect to get her up there?"

"Easy," Luffy replied. "She'll ride on my back."

"That's only going to make her even more sick!" Vivi protested.

"What's the problem?" Luffy asked, seemingly oblivious. "I thought we needed to hurry?" He asked.

"We do," Vivi admitted. "But you'll never make it up there! Look at how steep and tall that thing is!" She exclaimed, pointing out the window, towards the mountain.

"I can do it…" Luffy muttered begrudgingly.

"Maybe you can, but climbing that thing would be _way_ too hard on Nami!" Sanji added.

"Seriously Luffy, she has a really bad fever!" Usopp said. "It's so high that she's almost dying! Don't you understand that!?" Everyone went quiet and turned to Nami when she opened her mouth to speak. It took her a little while to work up the strength to talk, but she managed.

"I need to get over this thing, and quickly. We need to hurry," she panted. "For Vivi." She slowly slid her hand out from under the covers and held it towards Luffy. "Come on… Captain. Let's go." She said with a smile. Usopp, Sanji and Vivi stared at her completely stunned, while Kaien shook and head and smiled. Stubborn brats. Dalton looked down at the sick girl with mild worry and surprise, though it turned into a smile when Luffy grinned and gave Nami a solid hi-five.

"That's what I'm talking about Nami! Leave it to me!"

"Just great," Usopp complained. "Now our navigator is just as crazy as our captain!"

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Asked Vivi. "It'll take you a few hours to get there."

"Hey old guy!" Luffy called to Dalton. "Give us some meat for the road!" He just about ordered.

"Meat?" Dalton asked in confusion. The group of people packed some food water, got Nami in some warm clothes and walked outside.

"Right. I'm coming too." Sanji said seriously. He looked over his shoulder to see Kaien walk out of the house with a yawn, still without a jacket and join their little group. "You're coming too?" He asked. Kaien nodded. Sanji sighed and shrugged. Kaien was pretty strong, so he shouldn't slow them down.

'Remember Luffy," Usopp said, pointing a finger in Luffy's face. "You can't fall even once! Or Nami will die!"

"Not even once?" Luffy groaned.

"Hold still a second." Vivi said when Luffy moved. She was on her knees, tying Nami firmly to Luffy;' back. "I'm got to make sure that this is tight." She said, pulled harshly on the cloth being used. "Okay, you're all set." She said, standing up again. "I'm going to wait for you here. If I came with you guys I'd only get in the way." She turned to Kaien and frowned at him.

"Are you sure you don't want a jacket?" She asked worriedly. Kaien looked at her and shook his head. Vivi sighed. Beside them, Sanji was warmly bundled up with a big pack of supplies on his shoulders.

"Alright." Luffy said with a sense of finality. He looked over his shoulder at Nami. "Now you just hold on tight to me, 'kay Nami?" Luffy asked. Nami huffed weakly in reply.

"I guess you're set on going," Dalton said. The others looked at him in surprise. "I'm not going to try and stop you, but I'm at least going to ask you to go to the other side. That way you can avoid the laphans that are on this side." When he got blank looks from the pirates, he added an explanation. "They're large, carnivorous rabbits. You run into a pack of them, and you're as good as dead." Dalton cautioned.

"Really?" Asked Luffy. "We've got to get up there… We'll be just fine." He decided. "Right?" He asked Sanji and Kaien.

"Yeah," Sanji said. Kaien nodded.

"You can't be serious!" Dalton objected. "Do you know how easily those things can kill you?"

"Nah, we'll be alright." Luffy said. He braced himself and started running. "Hurry it up guys, before Nami dies!" He shouted back at them. Kaien immediately took off at a run, catching up with Luffy in no time. Sanji stood there for a moment angrily.

"Don't say stuff like that you idiot! Do you want to jinx us!?" He asked furiously. Luffy just gave a laugh.

"To the mountain!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – An Island without Doctors? Adventure in a Nameless Land! Part 2

_"I guess you're set on going," Dalton said. The others looked at him in surprise. "I'm not going to try and stop you, but I'm at least going to ask you to go to the other side. That way you can avoid the laphans that are on this side." When he got blank looks from the pirates, he added an explanation. "They're large, carnivorous rabbits. You run into a pack of them, and you're as good as dead." Dalton cautioned._

_"Really?" Asked Luffy. "We've got to get up there… We'll be just fine." He decided. "Right?" He asked Sanji and Kaien._

_"Yeah," Sanji said. Kaien nodded._

_"You can't be serious!" Dalton objected. "Do you know how easily those things can kill you?"_

_"Nah, we'll be alright." Luffy said. He braced himself and started running. "Hurry it up guys, before Nami dies!" He shouted back at them. Kaien immediately took off at a run, catching up with Luffy in no time. Sanji stood there for a moment angrily. _

_"Don't say stuff like that you idiot! Do you want to jinx us!?" He asked furiously. Luffy just gave a laugh._

_"To the mountain!"_

Usopp and Vivi watched quickly as the four crewmembers slowly faded into the distance.

"Are you sure they'll be alright?" Dalton asked, staring after them apprehensively.

"Well, it's not really those three we need to worry about," Usopp stated, referring to the three men.

"Nami's the one in trouble." Vivi said gently. "I just hope her strength can hold out long enough. She's getting weaker by the minute." The two teenagers stared silently in the direction their friends had disappeared too. They were long gone, yet the two of them stayed in their positions, waiting as they said they would. Dalton turned and walked towards his house, climbing the steps yet pausing at the door. He turned back and saw the two still standing there.

"Why are you standing there?" He asked, confused. "Come on inside; its cold out here." He suggested. Vivi turned to look at him for a moment.

"Oh no, that's really okay. I want to stay out here." She said.

"Me too!" Usopp stated fiercely, shivering in the intense cold, his long nose turned bright red. Dalton watched the two in shock for a moment, before smiling. He turned fully away from the door, walked back down to join the two and sat in the snow, legs crossed. Usopp and Vivi looked at him in confusion.

"I see… Well in that case, I'll join you." He said with a smile. The trio were quiet for a moment, all of them staring off into the snow covered distance. Waiting.

"We did once have some here on this island you know?" Dalton said out of the blue, breaking the silence that had fallen. "Some doctors." Dalton elaborated. "However all of them left some time ago for certain reasons. They were very good at what they did when they were here…" He said reflectively. "We were even well known for the advanced medicine that was practiced on this island."

"So what went wrong?" Vivi asked.

"A few months ago, we suffered a vicious attack." Dalton said. "Our country was destroyed. Destroyed by pirates." He said the last word bitterly and angrily. Vivi and Usopp gasped in shock and mild disbelief.

"The _whole_ country!?" Usopp asked incredulously.

"So that's the reason you acted that way when we showed up." Vivi deducted.

"Yes," Dalton established. "After the attack, the word Pirate still terrifies everyone on this island. Sorry about the way we treated you," Dalton apologised again. "_Their_ group was small as well. Only five people. Their captain called himself Blackbeard. Their power was so incredible they were able to destroy our entire country faster than you would believe."

"And there were only five of them fighting?" Vivi asked, eyes wide in shock. "That's impossible!"

"What's more," Dalton began, somewhat bitterly. "There are some here who believe it was actually good for the country.

"What could possibly be good about that happening!?" Vivi asked aggressively in disbelief.

"That's crazy!" Usopp agreed. "Who would say something like that anyway?"

"Thank you," Dalton acknowledged, looking up with a smile and a gently look on his face. "But they have their reasons. The king who ruled here before was a horrible man. His rule was despised by all of the citizens. Our kingdoms used to be known as Drum Kingdom, and our king's name was Wapol. He was the worst king imaginable." Dalton stated heatedly. Vivi and Usopp gasped in surprise and slight horror.

"Yes, I remember him." Vivi said anxiously. "I know that man."

"Not Wapol!" Usopp cried, eyes wide and nose red from the cold. A sudden cold blast of wind hit him in the face and he subconsciously turned to the direction his crew had disappeared to.

* * *

The snow had gotten much deeper than when they had left the village, and it was becoming slightly harder to run. Though the three of them easily kept up the quick pace they had begun with, it was no longer as easy as it should have been.

"It feels like it's gotten a little colder," Luffy said as they ran up the snow covered hill. "The wind's picking up too." He noticed. Sanji stared at him like he was stupid.

"Then why don't you think about putting on some _real_ shoes? Even seeing your feet like that is painful." Sanji complained.

"No way!" Luffy exclaimed. "This is my police!" He said proudly.

"Police?" Sanji asked, dumbfounded. "I think you mean policy."

"Yeah, that's it." Luffy corrected quickly. Next to them Kaien sighed. Sanji turned to him with a frown.

"And you! Just looking at you makes me feel colder! At least Luffy's wearing a jacket." He complained again to the older man. Kaien looked at him for a while.

"I'm wearing black shoes, so it's okay." He said. Even Luffy was confused at this.

"What have black shoes got to do with anything!?" Sanji asked exasperatedly. Kaien stared at Sanji for a moment, as if he was surprised that Sanji didn't know.

"Black absorbs heat, so it'll be fine." He said simply. There was a silence.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Sanji shouted suddenly.

"So anyway," Luffy said, changing the subject in order to prevent his cook from attempting to kill his newest crew member. "Did you know that people in snow countries never sleep at all." Sanji looked at his captain, attention quickly averted from Kaien and frowned in confusion.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because if they do, they'll freeze to death." Luffy said seriously.

"Don't be an idiot. Everyone has to sleep sometime." Sanji objected.

"It's the truth!" Luffy protested. "Someone told me that a long time ago!" Suddenly, out of nowhere a huge rabbit jumped from the trees, long claws extended, fanged teeth bared and red eyes flashing dangerously. Luffy ducked under it, Sanji stepped around it and Kaien didn't even have to move.

"Who told you that? Usopp?" Sanji asked, expecting the stupid advice to have come from the biggest liar in the crew.

"No." Luffy whined. "I heard it at a pub in my village." Behind them, the rabbit climbed out from the small pile of snow it had run into and began to chase after the four pirates angrily.

"Okay, so explain this. What did that Dalton guy have a bed for?" Sanji asked Luffy. The rabbit leapt at Sanji's head, jaw opened for the kill. Sanji ducked casually and the rabbit went face first into a tree, jaws closing and biting the tree so hard that it fell.

"I guess that's a good point. Maybe it's for when he dies!" Luffy exclaimed.

"That's ridiculous!" Sanji objected. Even Kaien looked at Luffy strangely. The tree the rabbit had bitten slowly began to fall towards the trio, about to land directly on top of them. The three slowed their speed slightly, letting the trunk of the tree land in front of them before easily jumping over it. By now Kaien was slightly amused by the thought that Luffy and Sanji barely even seemed to notice that they were being attacked by a carnivorous bunny-rabbit.

"Okay then," Sanji said in retaliation of Luffy's stupid comment. "Did you know that women in snowy countries have skin that's as smooth as silk?" Sanji said, in a somewhat loving voice.

"How come?" Luffy asked, sincerely believing Sanji.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sanji asked patronisingly. "Here, I'll explain. When you get cold, you rub your skin to warm it up right?" He asked. As he said this, the rabbit pounced at Kaien who tilted his body enough that it flew over his back.

"It's always freezing cold in snowy countries like this one." The rabbit went for Sanji, who merely leant to the side slightly as he talked.

"And so women keep rubbing their skin all the time." He continued as Luffy dodged another attack.

"So their skin becomes all white and silky smooth." He finished. The rabbit went for Sanji again, who jumped over it.

"Okay, then how come it's white?" Luffy asked, dodging yet again.

"Because of the snow. It's constantly falling all over them." Sanji said as he tilted his head, letting the rabbit fly past him. "So it dies their skin all white." He finished as Kaien easily sidestepped an over-enthusiastic attack. The rabbit's head got buried in a thick pile of snow as the pirates continued running.

"Geeze, you're really dumb; you know that?" Luffy asked, finally deciding that what Sanji was saying was a lie.

"You're one to talk." Sanji said as the rabbit unburied itself, and launched itself angrily at Sanji's back. As the laphan was just about to sink its teeth into Sanji, he lifted a leg and kicked it. Hard.

"You're becoming a pain in my ass!" He shouted, annoyed. The rabbit went flying, soon becoming invisible in the falling snow.

"Really, what was with that thing?" Luffy asked. Kaien shrugged.

"Maybe it was lonely?" He suggested. The other two looked at him.

"You're so stupid." Luffy said to Kaien. The older male shrugged and continued running. Soon they had nearly reached the mountain that held the castle. Unfortunately, Nami wasn't faring any better.

"Come on Nami, hang on for a little bit longer." Sanji pleaded. "We're going to get you to a doctor, alright?"

"Snows getting really deep around here." Luffy noticed, his legs sinking in up to his knees. Due to Kaien's greater height, he didn't have the same issue as the other two, being a good twenty centimetres taller than the two teenagers.

"Hey, try and run more smoothly will you? You're just making it harder on Nami." Sanji ordered. The three of them suddenly halted when they realised there was something other than snow and trees in front of them. A herd of really big rabbits, all at least double the size of Sanji were standing in front of them. The small one that Sanji had booted earlier clung to the shoulder of the largest one, the obvious leader of the pack. It was taller than the others and had a large scar over its face.

"What are these things?" Sanji asked.

"Well… They're big and they're white." Luffy said. "So they must be polar bears!" Luffy exclaimed. The other two ignored him.

"Laphans." Kaien answered, watching the giant rabbits curiously. Sanji turned to him in confusion.

"How'd you know that?" He asked. Kaien shrugged.

"Dalton told us that if we went this way we would run into giant, carnivorous rabbits called laphans." He explained. He pointed in front of them, hand completely still. "In front of us are giant, carnivorous-looking rabbits." He stated. The other two looked at him for a while.

"Sometimes I can't tell whether you're stupid or a genius." Sanji stated before turning back to the problem at hand.

* * *

Back at the village, Dalton was looking at the two teenagers in shock.

"What's that? You know Wapol?" He asked.

"Know who he is?" Usopp repeated. "We know more than that." He answered. "He's the pirate who attacked our ship not too long ago. But I was able to take care of it," Usopp blatantly lied. "Now that I think about it… I remember him saying something about heading to Drum Kingdom."

"Yes," agreed Vivi. "There's no question about it now. I'm sure I remember him at a monarch meeting that my father took me to. I was still very young then, but I remember it to this day." She stated. Dalton looked up at the bluenette curiously.

"A monarch meeting?" He asked. Vivi froze as she realised her mistake. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Oh no, I…eh…" She tried to cover up. "Well, the point is we do know Wapol." She said, changing the subject. "We ran into him yesterday when we were on our way here."

"Yesterday?" Dalton breathed. "Are you sure about that?" He asked.

"But then…" Vivi said. "I don't understand what's going on here. He said he was a pirate… He didn't say anything about being a king." She said.

"He's just calling himself a pirate as a disguise. In truth, Wapol has been wandering the seas, desperately trying to return to this island."

"So then…" Vivi began quietly. "Wapol and the people on his ship with him were kicked off the island because they were no match for the pirates?" Vivi asked. "Is that what happened?" Dalton's face immediately darkened.

"That's not it…When it happened," he began, voice rough in anger. "When we were attacked, Wapol's army didn't even _try_ to fight!" He said angrily, body trembling with his fury. Vivi gasped, the concept of abandoning ones people completely foreign to the princess of Alabasta. "In fact," Dalton continued spitefully. "The second he learned how strong they were, Wapol grabbed his cronies and ran like a coward! He was the first one to abandon the country and flee out to sea." He growled angrily. Vivi began shaking. "After that, the country fell into utter despair. We were left behind by our king." He snarled.

"What sort of king would do that to his country!?" Vivi asked, absolutely furious. Usopp looked at her in shock. Vivi clutched her hands together, face screwing up in anger. "A king abandoning his people? Just the thought of that makes me absolutely sick!" She said heatedly.

"Vivi…" Usopp murmured quietly.

"You're exactly right." Dalton said. "The one good thing that came out of it was the end of Wapol's tyrannical rule. The people who were left on this island have come together now. We are trying to create a new country. So what we fear most right now is the return of Wapol and his followers. The return of his rule. We can't afford for him to come back now, with the country so unstable, it would be the end of us!" Dalton said hatefully. "We want to build ourselves a new, _peaceful_ nation on this island." He said sadly. Peace. Something that wasn't occurring near a trio of certain pirates.

* * *

The laphan growled angrily at the three standing before them, baring their teeth and hissing. The laphan at the front bent its back legs and launched itself into the air.

"Look out!" Sanji shouted, as it flew high above them. The laphan smashed its claws down at the pirates, who quickly dodged to the side, causing the laphan to hit only snow, huge chunks flying everywhere.

"Seriously," Sanji complained. "How can it move like that? Is it a gorilla?" He asked, apparently forgetting Kaien's earlier explanation of what they _actually_ were.

"No," Luffy protested. "It's a polar bear!" He stated, more forcefully than last time. Kaien sighed.

"It's a laphan." The two teenagers turned to him again.

"What's a laphan?" They both asked at the same time. Kaien sighed. He had just explained it to them, not even a minuted ago.

"Don't worry about it." He said. Suddenly Sanji glared at Luffy.

"It's a rabbit!" He shouted, vaguely remembering Kaien's earlier explanation.

"How did you go from gorilla to rabbit?" Luffy asked, obviously having _not_ remembered the explanation of what a laphan was.

"These must be the laphans Dalton was telling us about." Sanji stated smartly. Kaien's mouth nearly fell open. Seriously?

"Well," Sanji continued. "There sure are a lot of them…" He said. The crowd of laphan moved in slightly, showing just how many there were. Over twenty. Kaien sighed, something he seemed to have been doing a lot since he joined this crew. At least it wasn't boring.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Are You Happy? The Doctor Called Witch

_ "Look out!" Sanji shouted, as the laphan flew high above them. The laphan smashed its claws down at the pirates, who quickly dodged to the side, causing the laphan to hit only snow, huge chunks flying everywhere._

_"Seriously," Sanji complained. "How can it move like that? Is it a gorilla?" He asked, apparently forgetting Kaien's earlier explanation of what they actually were._

_"No," Luffy protested. "It's a polar bear!" He stated, more forcefully than last time. Kaien sighed._

_"It's a laphan." The two teenagers turned to him again._

_"What's a laphan?" They both asked at the same time. Kaien sighed. He had just explained it to them, not even a minuted ago._

_"Don't worry about it." He said. Suddenly Sanji glared at Luffy._

_"It's a rabbit!" He shouted, vaguely remembering Kaien's earlier explanation._

_"How did you go from gorilla to rabbit?" Luffy asked, obviously having not remembered the explanation of what a laphan was._

_"These must be the laphans Dalton was telling us about." Sanji stated smartly. Kaien's mouth nearly fell open. Seriously?_

_"Well," Sanji continued. "There sure are a lot of them…" He said. The crowd of laphan moved in slightly, showing just how many there were. Over twenty. Kaien sighed, something he seemed to have been doing a lot since he joined this crew. At least it wasn't boring_.

The winds blew fiercely, flinging snow harshly against the faces of the three pirates, the stinging cold turning their faces red. Nami was still protected by Luffy and her hood, receiving less cold than the others. Silence reigned over the stand-off, broken only by the sound of the wind and the occasional growth of a laphan. From Luffy's back, Nami let out a sound that may have been a groan, or her attempting to speak.

"What is it?" Luffy asked the navigator.

"Hurry…" She whispered hoarsely. "I'll be…" She trailed off weakly, unable to finish the sentence. Luffy watched her with a frown.

"Just rest." He ordered. "Never mind that. We'll worry about it later okay?"

"She's not even worried about her own life." Sanji said with a small smirk. "Just hang in there a little longer Nami." Sanji turned back around the face the hoard of laphans.

"Let's get going. We have to make it to the castle where the doctor is." Sanji glared at the laphans in front of him. "Move it you damn bunnies."  
The lead laphans tilted its head slightly to the side, glaring at the three men in front of it with fierce red eyes.

"They're coming." Luffy warned the other two quietly. Kaien nodded slowly, his body tensing nearly imperceptibly.

"Yeah," Sanji agreed more vocally. The lead laphans shifted forward slightly, the snow creaking beneath its weight.

"Listen Luffy," Sanji said after a pause. Luffy turned to the chef in front of him. "I don't want you fighting these guys alright?"

"Why not?"

"Because!" Sanji retorted rather forcefully. "Nami will be able to feel every move you make. She's too sick to be able to handle something like that. It would be too much for her. She could die." Nami started to slip down Luffy's shoulder, as if emphasising Sanji's point.

"What?" Luffy began, before being cut off by loud, ferocious roars coming from the pack of laphans in front of them. Their raised their arms into the air and bared long, sharp fangs as the fierce battle cry rung out from every throat.

"Okay, then I won't fight them at all," Luffy reassured, talking quickly as the laphans had begun to charge. The entire pack suddenly leapt towards the three pirates and Nami.

"But then," he dodged a swipe of claws. "What can I do?"

"Just dodge!" Sanji replied, barely dodging his own attacking laphans. "Dodge." He ordered. "Dodge and run!" The leader of the laphans swiped at Luffy's back. Kaien quickly pulled the teenagers towards him, spinning them out of the way of the sharp claws.

"But don't retreat." Sanji added after a moment. Luffy turned a glare of him.

"That's a little difficult!" He then had to focus of Nami who was once again slipping off his shoulders. As his head was turned the leader of the laphans once again went for Luffy. Kaien grabbed the teens, and literally hoisting them over his shoulder, ran past the laphans as it swung both gleaming claws in the exact place captain and navigator had just occupied. One of the bigger laphans leapt towards Sanji, who spun quickly, and used both his strength and the momentum of the laphans, sent it flying towards its pack with a fierce kick.

"Damn," he muttered. "In this snow I can't get my footing well enough to land a solid kick."  
Kaien came up beside him and lowered Luffy back down to stand of the ground. Kaien quickly readjusted Nami, before focusing his attention on the laphans. The laphans were currently standing in a tight circle around their fallen kin; the one Sanji had just kicked. Simultaneously, all of their left ears tilted to the left, towards the pirates. They leapt again.

"They're attacking all at once!" Luffy shouted, panicking. He dodged the swipe of a laphans that attacked from the side, sending his hat flying. Sanji quickly grabbed it.

"Head for the forest!" Sanji ordered to both Luffy and Kaien. "I'll cover you!" He quickly dodged back from a laphans that had snuck up behind him, the main pack still covering the short distance towards him. Luffy frantically started running towards to forest, Kaien just behind him. When they were a safe distance away, Sanji began sprinting towards the other two barely missing the laphans that were diving at him, missing and landing in the snow, sending up giant plumes of the frozen water.

"Go left! We'll head to the mountain!"

"Okay!"

The three made a ninety degrees turn and sprinted towards the mountain. Kaien began to easily outpace the other two.

"Damn it, slow down!" Sanji ordered, Kaien looked behind him with a raised eyebrow.

"And let the carnivorous bunnies eat me?" He asked. Sanji frowned.

"We need to get rid of them!" He shouted as he began to pull ahead of Luffy. "It would take us hours to fight them all off, how do we shake them off now?" He asked, mainly rhetorically. To the direct left, the pack suddenly appeared from the trees, easily matching pace with the pirates.

"For bunnies, they're tough…" Sanji complained. "We're in trouble."  
Just then, a laphans jumped out of the forest on the left, the pirates' backs having been turned; and headed for Luffy and Nami. Luffy growled angrily and prepared himself for a kick. Sanji whacked him in the head, and used the leverage to jump over Luffy's leg to launch his own attack.

"Stop it!" He shouted angrily to Luffy. On Luffy's back, Nami groaned softly at the violent, jostling movements. Sanji quickly sent the laphans flying, before turning back to Luffy.

"What are you doing? I told you not to attack you idiot, just leave them to us!"

Luffy began running before Sanji had even finished his sentence, but the other two easily caught up to the burdened captain.

"Sorry."

"This is no time to be screwing around." Sanji growled, placing Luffy's hat back on his head. They reached what looked to be a small cliff, and Sanji and Kaien stayed back to keep the laphans away from the other two.

"Sanji!" Luffy called. "I think we can get up from here!"

"Right! Go on!" Sanji replied, as a laphans suddenly jumped from the trees directly on Luffy's right.

"Want to give me a lift?" Luffy asked the laphans rhetorically as he ran up its giant belly, jumped on its head and bounced over to the ledge. Sanji and Kaien quickly followed suit, sending the laphan to the ground in a sprawled heap. The pirates looked back warily and saw the entire pack standing down in the valley, glaring up at them. Luffy made a face at them, grinning until they all leapt up to the ledge the three were standing on. Sanji, Luffy and Kaien immediately started sprinting away.

"Did you really have to taunt them!?" Sanji cried.

"Sorry!"

"Head to the top of the mountain!"

* * *

Back down in the small town, Usopp and Vivi were still staring up at the mountain, waiting patiently. Cold snow whipped at their faces, and their hair swung wildly in the wind. A slow chill was beginning to creep through their thick jackets and Usopp couldn't supress a shiver.

"This snow's really picking up, huh?" He asked Vivi. Vivi closed her eyes and held her hands tightly together, head bowed as if in prayer. Beside them, Dalton watched the duo out of the corner of his eyes, easily noticing that the two were getting extremely cold, unused to such intense cold weather.

"Tell me something." He asked, more as a comment than an actual question. "Who are you guys?" He asked the teenagers.

"Why do you ask that?" Usopp questioned, forgetting his chills for a moment.

"A group of only seven people travelling the grand line on a ship without a doctor seems incredibly reckless." He stated bluntly. Usopp scowled.

"In case you forgot, we're pirates! That's the reason you guys were pointing all those guns at us remember?"

"Now," Usopp began, calmer. "We may be a small crew, true. But with the brave warrior of the sea on board, there's nothing to fear from anyone or anything." He said, crossing his arms with a proudly smug look on his face.

"Okay…" Dalton said disbelievingly. Usopp's face darkened again.

"Even though we are very brave, we _are_ looking for someone to be the ship's doctor. In fact, I was really hoping we'd find one here on this island. Of course what I wasn't expected was that the doctor here was a witch, living in castle." He said, pointing a thumb up towards the mountain. All three turned their heads towards it, simply watching.

"Well, she's all we have." Dalton said somewhat defensively. The other two turned their heads towards him and stared in surprise.

"You certainly seem to be a lot different than the pirates we're used to," Dalton said with a small smile, changing the subject. Before Vivi or Usopp could respond, a woman's voice called out from the side.

"Hello Dalton!"

The trio turned their heads towards the origin of the noise, and Usopp's face immediately paled.

"I was looking for you!" The woman stated. From in between two houses, the large woman from earlier emerged.

"Bow to the bear," Usopp quickly bowed his head, having forgotten Kaien's previous advice on how the woman wasn't one of the bears.

"Oh," Dalton said in genuine surprise. "What can I do for you?"

"I heard the newcomers were looking for Doctor Kureha."

"Yes… But the sick woman's friends have already taken her up the mountain." Dalton explained, standing up.

"Oh, that's too bad because I heard the doctor's in Cocoa Weed right now."

There was a silence as the three stared at the woman, completely dumbfounded.

"She's where!?" The three asked, or more, shouted.

"So Nami and the others already passed her!?" Usopp cried incredulously. Dalton quickly thanked the woman, bowing slight before running into his house. He came back out with his hat and weapons.

"We must hurry. Chances are that she won't be there for long." He said as he led Vivi and Usopp towards a sleigh. The deer were already tied up and ready to go, so Dalton jumped in the front and took a firm hold of the reins. Vivi and Usopp scrambled into the back, just as Dalton cracked the whips sending the reindeer into a sprint. They raced out of the town, being waved at by various villagers until they were in the middle of the plains, a forest covering all sides. The ride had been mostly silent, until Dalton broke it.

"I'm sorry…" He said. "I made a mistake." He said. Vivi and Usopp jerked their heads up slightly to look at him.

"I was aware that the doctor had come into town from the mountain in the last few days, but I assumed that she had left and wouldn't be back for quite some time." He said, the wind carrying his soft words back to his passengers. Usopp stood up and cupped his mouth to be heard.

"Don't worry about it! This isn't your fault! The problem here is how abnormally strong Luffy, Sanji and Kaien are. If we went up the mountain after them, there's no way we'd be able to catch up with them. If we are able to find the witch in this Cocoa Weed place, we just need to tell her to go back up the mountain as quickly as she possibly can."

Usopp fell back into his seat and Vivi cast a sidelong glance towards him.

"You're right, that's true. We have no other choice."

"Forgive us." Dalton said grimly. Vivi and Usopp looked up in shock and confusion. "Forgive this land for not having more doctors."

"Don't say that!" Vivi near ordered. "This isn't something you need to be apologising for Dalton."

"She's right about that." Usopp added. They couldn't see Dalton's face, but by the tone of the voice, he was feeling stronger.

"Let's hurry!"

* * *

By the Going-Merry, Zoro was standing on the snowy shoreline in nothing but his trousers, arms wrapped around his body and shaking visibly.

"Freezing out here!" He exclaimed, voice shaking from the cold. My whole body is going numb. I feel more like a popsicle than a human at the moment. Need more training I guess. If I really concentrate, I shouldn't even be bothered by the coldest temperatures." On the actual deck of the Going-Merry, Kaoru was huddled in a blanket, shivering as much as Zoro and making small noises. Zoro began to wade into the water, but looked up at the duck.

"Hey, Kaoru!" He called. "Want to come in with me? It's a great way to get your little bird body in shape!" He suggested. Kaoru visibly blanched at the idea, shaking his head violently and letting out a squawk of disagreement. The bird shook his head violently, eyes closed in an attempt to get the message across to Zoro. When he finally opened his eyes, Zoro wasn't there anymore. Kaoru squawked loudly, eyes nearly popping out of his head. Kaoru stared at the water in horror for a moment, before launching himself off the side of the boat, belly-flopping into the water. His blanket slowly fell in after him. Kaoru hit the water just as Zoro came up a few metres away.

"I didn't expect to see this many fish here… Well, I've got more to do," He said, swimming further away from the ship, and the underwater Kaoru.

* * *

On the mountain, the only noises that could be heard were the howl of the wind and the harsh panting of Luffy and Sanji as they painstakingly sprinted up the mountain. Kaien was easily keeping pace with them, somehow still not even breathing hard. Suddenly Sanji stopped and turned around to face the direction they came from.

"They coming?" Luffy asked.

"No," was the response. "It doesn't look like it."

"Alright! I guess we lost them huh?"

Sanji turned back towards the other three, froze for a moment, before tensing up into a fighting position.

"Nope. We haven't yet." Luffy and Kaien turned back up towards the mountain to see the hoard of laphans standing at the top of the hill they were climbing.

"They don't give up!" Luffy exclaimed. The laphans growled down at the humans and the leader raised his arm. Simultaneously, all the laphans began to jump up and down, the shockwaves of their bodies hitting the snow sending flecks flying.

"Why are they jumping up and down?" Luffy asked while Kaien took a small step back.

"Uh-oh," He muttered. The laphans continued to jump up and down, the shockwaves getting more and more violent. The trio of pirates watched the jumping laphans cautiously. Well, two of them did.

"Maybe they're grouchy 'cause they're hungry."

"I don't think so…" Sanji said quietly. He paused, brow furrowing as he thought something. "Wait a second…" His eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"

"Yeah…" Kaien said to the younger man.

"Oh no," Sanji said, newly placed cigarette slipping from his mouth. It fell slowly, turning in the hair before hitting the snow, sinking in slightly and sizzling out.

* * *

The sound of hard hoof-steps echoed through the relative quiet around Dalton and his passengers.

"Dalton." Usopp called seriously. "You haven't told us who _you_ are yet." He reminded. Dalton eyes slid back to the curious pirate.

"It doesn't seem like an ordinary villager," Usopp expanded. "You have this certain way of speaking that makes me think of a military officer."

"You're correct. I did serve this country. Under our former tyrant, Wapol." He stated. Usopp and Vivi gasped in shock, eyes widening.

"I became the captain of this country's security guard long ago, during the time that Wapol's father ruled here. However, the time came when the king died and he rule was handed down to his son, Wapol. When that happened, this country changed. He even exiled nearly all of the country's doctors on a whim. He kept twenty to himself." Dalton growled with a dark scowl on his face.

"Wow… So from then on, anyone that got sick had no choice but to throw themselves on Wapol's mercy and hope that the twenty doctors would aid them?" Usopp asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, and the excessive medical fees," Dalton snapped.

"So basically Wapol was ruling the country by taking the citizen's lives and health hostage?" Vivi asked furiously. "That's not ruling! What sort of king would do that!? That's tyranny." She muttered with a scowl, looking down at her lap. Dalton eyed her curiously from the corner of his eye, watching as Vivi seemed to be fighting back tears.

Unseen by the trio, on a mountain pass above their heads, another sleigh went past in the opposite direction. Further into the forest, Zoro walked through the forests and knee-deep snow, barefooted and shirtless.

"Ah! Dammit! I got carried away because of the cold and swam for too long. Where am I now?" He asked himself, looking around.

"And where's the ship!? This is great…" He muttered irritably. "I have no way of telling where I am with all this snow everywhere. Zoro turned back to face the front and froze. In front of him was a brown reindeer with a blue nose, wearing pants and a hat. Attached to it was a sleigh that contained an old woman. Zoro stared for a moment before a realisation struck him.

"I'm saved! Hey! Old Lady!" he called, walking towards her. "Sorry to bother you, but do you think you could drop me off at a village nearby or something?" He asked as he walked past the reindeer. He peered inside the sleigh, and noticed what the woman was wearing.

"Wow, what are you doing dressed like that in this whether?" He asked. She was wearing a white and pink midriff shirt, an open purple and yellow midriff jacket, sunglasses and some purple leather pants.

"I've seen some weird old ladies in my day," Zoro continued. "But you, you're…" He trailed off as the women gestured for him to go closer. He leant towards her.

"Careful how to talk to me, little boy." She warned before punching Zoro square in the face, sending him flying backwards. "At a hundred and thirty-nine years old, I'm still young and strong." She stated, clenching a fist. Let's go Chopper," She said to the reindeer. "That boy is clearly some kind of freak." Zoro leapt back to his feet.

"Come back here!" Zoro glared after the sleigh.

"What was her problem!? Dumb old hag." He said with a scowl. A large gust of cold wind hit Zoro and his arms immediately wrapped around his torso again.

"So… Cold… I'll freeze to death before long. Alright, I guess for now I'll do some strength training to get myself warmed up a bit." He said looking around at the forest.

* * *

Out towards the sea, unseen be all but one sentry, a ship landed on the shoreline. A ship with a terrifyingly familiar jolly-roger.

* * *

In the village of Cocoa Weed, the villagers were crowded in an Inn, the door curiously being repaired. Dalton, Vivi and Usopp were inside, questioning the villagers.

"What are you telling us?" Usopp asked with a groan. "You mean the witch left this town just a few moments ago? Oh, you got to be kidding me! This is ridiculous!"

A little boy with his legs bandaged was sitting propped up by his hands on a padded blue couch, Vivi crouched before him.

"She left after she made my sickness all better." The little boy said with a smile. Vivi looked over to Dalton, a sad expression on her face. Dalton's own face fell slightly.

"If you're looking for the doctor," A man with grey hair and a green and purple hat said. "She's already left." Dalton looked over his shoulder towards the man impassively.

"We have to find her. Can you tell us where she was headed when she left here?" The tall man asked.

"I think I know," A man in blue said. He was sitting at the table, with a mug in front of him. He pointed his thumb behind him. "I heard from somebody else that she was heading towards Gyasta." Dalton looked shocked.

"Gyasta?"

"So where is that?" Usopp asked.

"If we were going to Gyasta from Bighorn, we'd go in the opposite direction that we went to come here."

"Oh great!" Usopp said petulantly. "We passed her?"

"Ice-skating is very popular there…" Dalton murmured randomly.

"What does that have to do with anything!?" Usopp cried.

"Calm down Usopp," Vivi said. "We need to get going to that town. At this point we really don't have that much time to lose." Vivi told the duo.

"Yeah, you're right…" Usopp muttered.

"Dalton!" A voice cried for the doorway. Everyone in the Inn turned towards it. A man with blue hair, covered with blood was leaning weakly against the door-frame. A crowd of villagers were gathered behind him. "I found you at last…"

"Yes, but I thought you were standing watch tonight." Dalton said, eyes wide. The man lost his grip on the door and fell to the ground. Dalton's eyes widened further and he ran forward, barely catching the man before he hit the ground.

"What's the matter?" Dalton asked urgently. "I can tell that you've been badly injured. Tell me what went wrong!" He ordered in an uncharacteristically loud and fierce voice.

"Every watchman except for me…" The man panted. "They've all been killed Dalton."

"What!?"

"This thing…" the man groaned. "This submarine sail boat… It came out of nowhere and it attacked us. They killed every one of the watchmen. We couldn't stop them." The man reported weakly in a strained voice.

"Who were _they_? I don't understand!" Dalton said urgently. "Please explain this!" The man suddenly sat upright and grabbed Dalton tightly by the jacket.

"Please! Dalton! Help us! We aren't strong enough to fight them! You have to do something!" The man paused to take in a shallow breath. Dalton's face was tense, eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" Usopp asked. Dalton's face suddenly screwed up in absolute fury as he watched the man dying in his arms.

"It was _them_?" He asked wrathfully.

"It was Wapol!" The man cried. The reaction was instantaneous. Terror and shock coated the features of everyone in the room. "Wapol and his men… They came back." Noise erupted around the room as the villagers realised what had just been said. Dalton lowered the man to the ground and stood to his full height. He grabbed his weapon from the side and ran out the door. Usopp jerked and reached out towards him.

"Dalton, wait!"

Dalton raced from the Inn, grabbed a nearby horse and kicked it into a gallop. As it ran through the forest, Dalton began to change. Fur grew along his skin and his face changed shape. It wasn't long before Dalton had gained the form of a bull. He kicked off the horse and sprung forward, his powerful legs propelling him faster than a horse ever could.

"I'll get you Wapol!" He cried.

* * *

The entire mountain began to shake as the laphans continued to jump.

"Those damn bunnies," Sanji said hoarsely, eyes wide in fear. "Great, they've done it now. This isn't good." Sanji moaned. Luffy turned to stare at him in innocent confusion.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. "And what are the bunnies doing?" Kaien and Sanji stared at their captain in disbelief for a moment. Kaien sighed.

"Okay," Sanji began. "We have to run guys."

"We're running again? Where to?" Luffy complained.

"Anywhere, as long as it's far away." He said, slowly moving backwards.

"There's about to be an avalanche!"


	7. Notice

Just a notice that there will definitely be no updates in the immediate future because I broke my arm last night :P


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